The Director of Quality at the Ministry of Environment, Awatif El Mass, Warns Against the Serious Dangers of Plastic for Human Health and the Environment
Awatif El Mass, the Director of Quality at the Ministry of Environment, has warned about the severe dangers of plastic, both for human health and the environment. She emphasized that the harmful effects of plastic affect a wide range of products, including food, fish, and other items, which are contaminated by the proliferation of this material in the environment.
In an interview on Saturday, March 15, 2025, with national radio, Awatif El Mass revealed that, according to the latest data from 2018, Tunisia consumes 4.2 billion plastic bags every year. She specified that once plastic enters nature, it can remain there for centuries without decomposing, with a period lasting up to 400 years.
The director also reminded that plastic is present in many common products such as toothpaste, chewing gum, and other everyday items. She warned that this substance has negative effects on the thyroid gland and has been identified as a factor that can harm male fertility.
Even more alarming, traces of plastic have been found in human blood as well as in the fetus, inside the mother’s womb, highlighting the scope of this pollution.
As part of its efforts to reduce the impact of plastic, the Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with the state, has launched several initiatives, including the free distribution of paper bags in bakeries in the Tunis and Sfax regions. This measure aims to encourage the abandonment of plastic bags. Awatif El Mass called on Tunisians to raise awareness of the dangers of plastic and to systematically refuse plastic bags, particularly when buying bread.
This intervention highlights the need to adopt more responsible and ecological practices to protect public health and the environment from the growing plastic pollution.
Source: La Presse
