The climax of the activities in Blantyre was a march that started from the Mjamba Freedom Park through Kamuzu highway up to Blantyre market.

The match patronized people from various sectors including Blantyre city assembly, police, industries, churches and schools. The activities included picking up of plastic papers/objects and also civic educating people about the hazards of plastics in the environment.

At the Blantyre market where the match adjourned the president of WESM Tionge Gawa explained that one of the motives for the match was to bring awareness to the public about the ban of thin plastics and also to introduce to the public the alternatives to thin plastics.

“Plastics are hazardous to the environment because they do not decompose,” Gawa said.

“Here we have brought to you samples of alternatives to plastics such as these paper bags which easily decompose thus making them environmental friendly,” said Gawa while showing the audience the paper bags.  

An Environmental Scientist and lecturer of environmental sciences in the Department of Physics and Biochemical Sciences (PBS) at the Polytechnic, Floney Kabaghe, led the staff and students who participated in the march.

“The Malawi Polytechnic participated because community outreach is in our mission statement,” she explained.

She continued; “Students who participated are from the PBS department, they learn environmental sciences therefore their participation was deemed necessary in the sense that it will indicate their commitment to what they learn regarding environmental protection and management.”

One of the Polytechnic students involved in this, a Fourth Year Environmental Science and Technology student from PBS by the name of Andrew Kaitano Hamuza also expressed his benefits from the experience.

“As a student I have learned that plastics bring more harmful impacts than positive ones,” stated Hamuza.

“This will help us as students to invent ways of disposing of plastics including recycling and also helping in designing alternatives to plastic usage” narrated Hamusa.