Flexi: The devil in the air

• 20 tonnes are burnt every day in city

• Decreases oxygen content in atmosphere

Flex boards and banners are colourful means to market. In fact, they are cheaper too. Amidst those colours, there are life threatening pollutants. The flex banners are made of Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) which is non- biodegradable. Flex banners, when burnt release gases that are harmful and cause cancer, yet everyday 20 tonnes of flexi banners are incinerated in Greater Hyderabad region

Flex banners might be attractive but they cause more harm than good. The flex boards and banners are made of synthetic polymers, mostly Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC). These release harmful gases on burning which cause cancer. Though a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the AP High Court seeking ban on illegal flex board (flex boards that are seen other than designated signboards) and the court directed the concerned authority to take necessary action, yet the flex boards keep popping up everywhere. The irony here is that the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB), which is authorised to implement ban on the flex boards, does its advertising on flex boards.There is an ever growing demand for flexis and these are used for every occasion. There are approximately 2,100 sign boards under the GHMC and most of these do employ flex boards and banners. An independent study estimated that around 20,000 kg of flex banners are required to fill these boards. And counting the number of banners that keep popping up on the electric poles, footpaths, flyovers it is even more. The flexi once used cannot be recycled. It is non-biodegradable as well. Apart from burning of flexi in the Jawaharnagar dumping yard, it is reported that nearly 2 tonnes of flexi are burnt every day in the localities.

Perils of burning flexi

A flex board or banner is made from synthetic polymer and colour dye. As it is non-biodegradable it has to be burnt. It requires a temperature of 299 degree Celsius to burn the flexi and it also raises the temperature of the surroundings. The flex ash has a ph of 4.7, which is acidic. This ash makes the soil, water and air acidic. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) should be 30 and 250 micro grams per cubic metre. But due to the burning of flexis these levels were tampered with.

The burning of flexis releases harmful pollutants like sulphates and nitrates. These pollutants are heavier than air and form a thick blanket reducing the supply of oxygen in the vicinity.

“We remove the flex board, as soon it is noticed. But if the flex board has been put up for any particular festival we leave it for one day and then remove it,” said GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar.

“We have to get rid of flex boards. Cotton banners are the need of the hour. There is a ban on the use of flex boards but that isn’t being implemented strictly. Everyone should put their best foot forward in saying no to flex boards,” said, G Prasanna Kumar, a noted social scientist.

“Many countries have banned the use of flexis. In cities like Mumbai and Delhi there is cap on the number of flex boards. But the real problem in the city is that flex banners/boards are even used for small household functions. People tend to forget the fact that it causes cancer,” fumes Jaya Prakash Namburu, founder, I Go Green Foundation.

Talking about illegal flex banners, he said, “The civic body should crack the whip on the illegal banners that adorn the streets and electric poles. Political parties should stop the extensive use of flex banners and materials for canvassing.”

Initiatives against flex boards

• Most foreign countries have stopped using flex boards, they have switched to neon and digital sign boards.

• Salem saw ban on flex boards on the occasion of Jayalalithaa’s birthday

• Kerala Election Commission has banned the use of flex boards for canvassing