wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
  Today Online 16 Apr 07
The argument is in the bag

Today Online 14 Apr 07
'Green bags' are good, but some retail staff don't know why
Letter from Caroline Lee
Letter from Maggie Yang

Today Online 13 Apr 07
Waste by the bagload
Letters about plastic bags

Put up posters at wet markets
Letter from Patrick Lee

I find the report, "Be green, take one" (April 12), very interesting. I am a hawker in a wet fish market. I'm tired of giving out free plastic bags to aunties, uncles and even professionals, who demand the fish be put in small plastic bags, which are then put into a bigger plastic bag and finally into another large plastic bag — so that it won't wet their cars!

I agree with the idea of curbing the use of plastic bags and hope that the National Environment Agency (NEA) will help spread the message to the public not to expect plastic bags from retailers, or, if they want bags, they pay for them.

Now that the NEA plans to reinforce this message, can the agency put up posters all over wet markets and tell all customers that plastic bags won't be given for free? And I certainly don't expect NEA staff to ask me for plastic bags when they buy fish.

My profit margin is very low and plastic bags definitely cost me a great deal every weekend. I'm fully supportive of this green campaign!

But how will we throw trash away?
Letter from Kym Ong

Most families don't simply throw away the plastic bags they get from stores or supermarkets. Instead, the bags are reused to dispose of household garbage.

There are signs in some estates near the rubbish chute that say: "Please tie up your rubbish in plastic bags before throwing".

If this campaign to cut down on plastic bags is successful, in future, one may have to buy plastic bags for garbage or worse, if a person wants to save money, one could throw rubbish without bothering to put it in bags and the cleaners may have a harder time dealing with the mess. It may also leave a bad smell.

Channel bag sales takings to charities
Letter from Sally Tan

I think the takings from the sale of the reusable bags and plastic bags should go to charitable organisations for the elderly or children, rather than the Singapore Environment Council.

And instead of just encouraging people to carry their own bag, the National Environment Agency should consider providing each household with one or two reusable carriers to reinforce the idea.

After all, people can easily avoid going shopping on every first Wednesday of the month.

Today Online 14 Apr 07
'Green bags' are good, but some retail staff don't know why
Letter from Caroline Lee
Letter from Maggie Yang

Bravo! At last, Singapore is making a greater effort to help save the earth.

When I joined a tour to China two years ago, I was taken aback when I went shopping and was told: "Sorry, no bag." When I checked with my tour guide the next day, I was told that the stores practised "Save the Earth", and if we wanted to go shopping, we would have to bring along our own bag.

I salute Singapore for taking part in this initiative and I hope every Singaporean will take along his or her own bag when they hit the shops.

I think it is great that the public is being made aware of the "green bags" issue again. This being the second year since their inception, I hope more will join in using their own bags when they go shopping.

However, I feel the campaign is handicapped by some store cashiers who are oblivious to the rationale for it. Last year, I bought a "green bag" and the cashier immediately packed it into a plastic bag! She seemed unaware of the reasons for using a "green bag".

Every so often, when I approach store cashiers with my "green bag" and used plastic bags, they always seem ready to use the stack of new plastic bags at the counter.

I have to remind them to use my bags — a request to which they will respond with a look on their faces as if to ask: "What's all the fuss?"

I believe that educating frontline retail staff in this matter has been neglected, or the retailers themselves are not sold on the green movement. To achieve the objective of this campaign, not only do the partners of the initiative need to enlighten the consumers. The retailers must also be convinced of its importance.

Today Online 16 Apr 07
The argument is in the bag

Don't wait for Government to act – do it yourself!
Letter from Preeti Athavle

Carry your own plastic bag
Letter from Chan Keng Min

But what about garbage?
Letter from Denis Distant

I heartily applaud Ikea for deciding to charge for plastic bags, and hope that more retailers will follow in its footsteps.

Mr Patrick Lee's letter ("Put up posters at wet markets", April 13) reiterates what a shopkeeper at Little India once told me. He said that while he could charge his customers for plastic bags, if he were actually to do that, all his customers would leave him and go to another shop.

Today, all items like rice, sugar etc come in their own packaging. These bags can be reused as garbage disposal bags. All you need to do is to tie the bags before throwing them down the chute, with raffia string which you get when you buy things like bananas. The bread bag and other small bags can also be kept handy for throwing away food and other wet waste.

It is really very simple — provided people want to do it.

As Kym Ong suggested ("But how will we throw trash away?", April 13), there will always be inconsiderate people who throw rubbish down the chute.

Ms Sally Tan's letter ("Channel bag sales takings to charities", April 13) asking the National Environment Agency (NEA) to dole out reusable carriers to every household is yet another example of Singaporeans wanting to be hand-held by the Government.

Singaporeans, grow up! Take some steps on your own.

I read with interest the subject of plastic bag usage and ways to cut down the usage. Carrying a reusable cloth or jute bag may be a hassle, as most of the time we make some small purchases on the way to office, during lunch break or on the way back from office to home.

A fabric bag is not really small. It makes for bulk even when folded and will not fit into a pocket or handbag snugly.

May I suggest that — as I have been doing for a long time — you carry a medium-sized folded plastic bag in your handbag or pocket all the time? So when purchasing small amount of items, you can whip out the bag and carry your purchased stuff in it. The folded plastic bag is not bulky and will not be a hassle to your daily routine.

Most of the time, people want to save the environment, but how many will consciously remember to take a jute or cloth bag along when going shopping? With the folded plastic bag in your back pocket all the time, you will never forget. Never leave home without it — the plastic bag, I mean.

Many of the plastic bags collected at supermarkets end up being used to pack household refuse thrown into dustbins in landed property estates. Each morning the collectors run alongside the refuse trucks pulling out these bags from the bins, which line the pavement in these estates.

I would like to ask the waste management companies, who send these trucks and collectors out daily, how they expect the collectors to manage if households throw rubbish directly into bins without using plastic bags? Will they be able to complete their rounds on time if they have to carry every bin to the truck?

Instead of pledging support for the campaign, the management of waste collection companies should follow their staff for a few mornings to get an idea of what is going to be the scenario when no free plastic bags are available.

They may have to increase the fleet of trucks and number of collectors, and possibly provide free garbage bags too.
links
Related articles about Singapore: plastic bags efforts to reduce use of plastic bags, issues, discussions
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com