Reduce PLASTIC BAGS is your RESPONSIBILITY to start SAVE our environment

There are many simple methods to free the world from harmful effects. Every single activity in our daily routine is highly affecting the environment. “Go Green” or the 3 “R” concepts – reduce, reuse and recycle, were introduced for urging efforts to save the environment. However, people still lack of awareness on waste minimization and continue damaging our world directly or indirectly.

The most visible activity is shopping routine. Government had launched the campaign of “Use Less Plastic Bags” and “No Plastic Bag Day” with the participants of hypermarkets such as Tesco, Giant, Carrefour; small outlets such as Speedmart, Seven Eleven and others departmental stores in order to reduce the plastic bags usage. All the participants would not provide free plastic bags but extra charge 20 sen for each plastic bag on every Saturday all over the nation with the purpose of reminding the shoppers to bring their own recyclable bags as a habit. Yet, the participants also substituted the durable plastic bags with biodegradable plastic bags. In addition, Penang is the only state that successfully implemented everyday no free plastic bags since 1 January 2011. While the government is controlling hypermarket and supermarket bags usage, the plain plastic bags used in night market and wet market were increasing. For instance, people wrapped food with plastic bags instead of using steel or ceramic lunch boxes that look so good, appetizing and healthy.

Some retailers have completely stopped providing plastic bags and substituted with paper bags instead. However, paper bags are costly that not all retailers could affordable. Besides, paper bags are not durable which causes more resources and energy consumption to achieve the demand.  Paper recycling is not adequate to produce paper bag since it can be recycled into items such as tissue paper, paper boxes and newspaper. If this happen, more trees will be trimmed down where trees need years to grow up. Thus, substitution with paper bag is not a good solution.

Furthermore, I am often overheard that some shoppers claimed that they can reuse those free plastic bags as garbage bags, so that they do requested for more plastic bags since it is free. However, I do not think that they had that much of rubbish to throw; otherwise more plastic bags would encourage them to produce more waste. For garbage disposal, our government did provide various recycling containers to collect different type of waste. Yet, plastic bags encourage people dump everything into a garbage bag instead of separating the unwanted things into different categories. If people think before disposing the waste, they can practice the 3 “R” concepts which enable them to reduce the waste, reuse the disposal in different method and send the waste to recycle center. Besides, people that dumped plastic bags into river or drain would clog the water flow and caused flood to be happened.

In conclusion, a few simple adjustments to your daily routine can turn you into an eco-friendly user by saving your money, improving you and your family healthiness, cutting waste and saving for the future. Please do not hesitate and start it today! Please join the civilized society, go out together with your grocery bag and lunch box. Your decisions can help the global environment. Think twice! You play an important role to influence more people such as your family and friends to save the environment. 

P.S

Remember to bring along your grocery bag and lunch box =D