Another "Bright" Idea, Dimmed by Lack of Thought...
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Charge us for plastic bags? Customers say:
WE'LL BUY OUR OWN
Shops say more people also ask for extra free bags
By Hedy Khoo
April 30, 2007
IF you think that the once-a-month Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) Day campaign at 200 supermarkets across the island will help to cut down on plastic bag usage, think again.
A check with more than 10 provision shops selling plastic bags have all reported an increase in sales of such disposable bags.
The buyers: People who want to have their own plastic bags so they don't have to pay 10cents for it at supermarkets on BYOB Day.
Each packet of 50 plastic bags usually cost about $1.20.
A shop selling household items at Hougang St 21, near Cold Storage and FairPrice supermarkets, has seen a 20 per cent surge in the sales of plastic bags since BYOB Day, which happened on April 18.
Manager Foo Soo Teck, 50, said: 'On that day, one elderly woman came in looking quite frantic and bought six packs of plastic bags.'
Mr Foo said she wasn't the only customer who grumbled about needing plastic bags. They claimed they need them as trash bags. (See report on facing page.)
He said: 'Most of these housewives have grown so used to getting these bags free from the supermarkets, so having to pay 10 cents a bag came as a shock,' he said.
Mr Foo couldn't quite keep up with the demand of plastic bags on BYOB Day when one customer strode in wanting 12 packs of trash bags.
'I was quite shocked, because people usually buy one or two packs at most. I didn't even carry that many packs in my shop and I sold him the only seven packets I had,' Mr Foo said.
The shop manager thinks that while saving the environment is important, he feels that many people are confused about the message behind BYOB Day.
He said: 'Instead of educating people, it is bringing out their kiasu side. They start stocking up on bags, thinking the prices are going up.'
At Bedok North St 1, some shoppers asked for extra free plastic bags with their purchases.
Mr Wong Lock Meng, 34, who works at a shop there: 'On BYOB Day, about 20 housewives came in asking for free plastic bags. They bought one or two things and asked for two or three big plastic bags.'
The same happened for a medical hall situated opposite the supermarket.
Owner Madam Chong said that on BYOB Day, about 15customers asked for two to three extra big carrier bags each.
She said: 'I gave them the bags even though they bought single, small items.'
Many families use plastic bags to hold household rubbish.
A plastic bag wholesaler at Victoria Wholesale Centre, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Chua, said many housewives buy plastic bags regularly for rubbish disposal and to store food.
CONVENIENCE
She said: 'BYOB Day is not effective because people like myself will simply avoid shopping on that day.
'Singaporeans want convenience. It is impossible to live without plastic bags. They are an essential item to daily life,' she said.
HDB resident Madam Elizabeth Michael, 43, is one of those who use plastic bags daily for rubbish disposal.
'It's good to save the environment, but what if it affects hygiene?
'If people throw food waste down the rubbish chute, it is going to attract more cockroaches and flies,' she said.
She said she is already facing cockroaches crawling up the chute, thanks to neighbours upstairs who do not bag their refuse before throwing it.
She said: 'I am already recycling the plastic bags I get from the supermarkets. I am not going to use fewer bags just because of BYOB Day.'
'It is only hurting my pocket because I have to pay for new plastic bags to use as trash bags,' she added.
Graphic designer Lindy Wan, 31, agreed: 'I cannot cut down because I need to bag refuse and dog poo, and take the trash to the chute outside.'
Wrapping the waste in newspapers is not an option, she said, because it will open up, spilling the rubbish.
'People who do that do not spare a thought for workers who clear the bins,' Ms Wan said.
According to figures provided by the National Environment Agency (NEA), Singaporeans use 2.5 billion single-use plastic bags yearly.
This translates to 625 bags per person a year.
This is alarmingly higher than in Japan, where the consumption rate is 260 bags per person annually, and in the US, where it is 333 bags per person a year.
The NEA said many of the bags here are re-used to bag household refuse, a good hygiene practice that the agency continues to promote.
However, what BYOB Day aims to address is the problem of plastic bags thrown away without being re-used. This is a waste of resources.
The message that the NEA would like to send out is to take only enough plastic bags and to re-use bags as often as possible to cut wastage.
The 10 cents charged for each supermarket plastic bag helps to fund the Singapore Environmental Council's activities. -
Though I'd agree that bolder actions could be taken, the fault lies largely with the Singaporean consumer and his psyche.
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Originally posted by ShutterBug:
Possible solution : 1) Light weight re-useable hand held cooler bag.
[b]Charge us for plastic bags? Customers say:
WE'LL BUY OUR OWN
Shops say more people also ask for extra free bags
By Hedy Khoo
April 30, 2007
IF you think that the once-a-month Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) Day campaign at 200 supermarkets across the island will help to cut down on plastic bag usage, think again.
A check with more than 10 provision shops selling plastic bags have all reported an increase in sales of such disposable bags.
The buyers: People who want to have their own plastic bags so they don't have to pay 10cents for it at supermarkets on BYOB Day.
Each packet of 50 plastic bags usually cost about $1.20.
A shop selling household items at Hougang St 21, near Cold Storage and FairPrice supermarkets, has seen a 20 per cent surge in the sales of plastic bags since BYOB Day, which happened on April 18.
Manager Foo Soo Teck, 50, said: 'On that day, one elderly woman came in looking quite frantic and bought six packs of plastic bags.'
Mr Foo said she wasn't the only customer who grumbled about needing plastic bags. They claimed they need them as trash bags. (See report on facing page.)
He said: 'Most of these housewives have grown so used to getting these bags free from the supermarkets, so having to pay 10 cents a bag came as a shock,' he said.
Mr Foo couldn't quite keep up with the demand of plastic bags on BYOB Day when one customer strode in wanting 12 packs of trash bags.
'I was quite shocked, because people usually buy one or two packs at most. I didn't even carry that many packs in my shop and I sold him the only seven packets I had,' Mr Foo said.
The shop manager thinks that while saving the environment is important, he feels that many people are confused about the message behind BYOB Day.
He said: 'Instead of educating people, it is bringing out their kiasu side. They start stocking up on bags, thinking the prices are going up.'
At Bedok North St 1, some shoppers asked for extra free plastic bags with their purchases.
Mr Wong Lock Meng, 34, who works at a shop there: 'On BYOB Day, about 20 housewives came in asking for free plastic bags. They bought one or two things and asked for two or three big plastic bags.'
The same happened for a medical hall situated opposite the supermarket.
Owner Madam Chong said that on BYOB Day, about 15customers asked for two to three extra big carrier bags each.
She said: 'I gave them the bags even though they bought single, small items.'
Many families use plastic bags to hold household rubbish.
A plastic bag wholesaler at Victoria Wholesale Centre, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Chua, said many housewives buy plastic bags regularly for rubbish disposal and to store food.
CONVENIENCE
She said: 'BYOB Day is not effective because people like myself will simply avoid shopping on that day.
'Singaporeans want convenience. It is impossible to live without plastic bags. They are an essential item to daily life,' she said.
HDB resident Madam Elizabeth Michael, 43, is one of those who use plastic bags daily for rubbish disposal.
'It's good to save the environment, but what if it affects hygiene?
'If people throw food waste down the rubbish chute, it is going to attract more cockroaches and flies,' she said.
She said she is already facing cockroaches crawling up the chute, thanks to neighbours upstairs who do not bag their refuse before throwing it.
She said: 'I am already recycling the plastic bags I get from the supermarkets. I am not going to use fewer bags just because of BYOB Day.'
'It is only hurting my pocket because I have to pay for new plastic bags to use as trash bags,' she added.
Graphic designer Lindy Wan, 31, agreed: 'I cannot cut down because I need to bag refuse and dog poo, and take the trash to the chute outside.'
Wrapping the waste in newspapers is not an option, she said, because it will open up, spilling the rubbish.
'People who do that do not spare a thought for workers who clear the bins,' Ms Wan said.
According to figures provided by the National Environment Agency (NEA), Singaporeans use 2.5 billion single-use plastic bags yearly.
This translates to 625 bags per person a year.
This is alarmingly higher than in Japan, where the consumption rate is 260 bags per person annually, and in the US, where it is 333 bags per person a year.
The NEA said many of the bags here are re-used to bag household refuse, a good hygiene practice that the agency continues to promote.
However, what BYOB Day aims to address is the problem of plastic bags thrown away without being re-used. This is a waste of resources.
The message that the NEA would like to send out is to take only enough plastic bags and to re-use bags as often as possible to cut wastage.
The 10 cents charged for each supermarket plastic bag helps to fund the Singapore Environmental Council's activities.
[/b]
2) Folded light weight roller cart with vacum seal.
weight capacity of grocery 25 kg.
Singapore is still an economy that does not create solution for its domestics market. there is a different between ideas vs solution. That has been lacking, maybe because we always depend upon import and export of trade as such we always look out rather than creating local solution.
Another 2 examples that could possibily be relevant to Singapore.
This has been shown on CNA. ( creamated human bone ashes to carbonized into Diamond) I think this is a very relevant ideas especially space is a constraint in Singapore. Don't have to pay storage at the temple.
Mangosteen husk has plenty of antioxident and we throw alway. Actually I saw company harvest it as juice. -
goodness
if they want to charge us money for the plastic bags, then i might as well, bring my old plastic bag to ntuc, next time -
I pointed out this problem when some idiots says charge the consumers for plastic bags.
"Get free plastic bag from supermarket and throw away the plastic bag" A lot of citizens won't do this.
They will use the bags to contain rubbish, for hygiene and convenience sake. -
There is a need to look at behavior change and creating alternative solution together. by simply proposed a behavior chang without a alternative solution is not going to reduce plastics bag. Because at the end of the day we need something to hold onto.Originally posted by Hogzilla:I pointed out this problem when some idiots says charge the consumers for plastic bags.
"Get free plastic bag from supermarket and throw away the plastic bag" A lot of citizens won't do this.
They will use the bags to contain rubbish, for hygiene and convenience sake.
it can't be always a business excuse to save cost. -
When I was in Oz, there was no such thing called BYOB day.
Cashier only tried to push the sale of the reusable bags, but that's it. -
It's not stupid, it's just you and that dim aura of yours that you can't see past.
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Come up with something original - if you can.Originally posted by Eric Cartman: -
Nah why make something up myself when I can have it both ways - troll this topic and at the same time let others shoot at your lines?Originally posted by Kuali Baba:Come up with something original - if you can. -
hey hey hey, bring it outside.
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Originally posted by Eric Cartman:Nah why make something up myself when I can have it both ways - troll this topic and at the same time let others shoot at your lines?
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Now that our government and their perfect ministers are paid million dollar salaries, it will even be harder, and unjustifiable, for the public to suggest or think up a better solution for ANYTHING...!
It would be like you hail a Taxi, then the cabbie asks you to do the driving to your own destination....! -
NTUC start this campaign with no long term purpose.
how is 1 day gona make a difference? they should propose rebates for customer if they bring their own bags. that is social responsibility.
if govt really have the intend to implement, they should start educate our young children at first.stop all plastic bag usage in all govt ministries, stats boards.
moreover the design of the flats nowadays require all household to dump their rubbish at common refuse chute. thus plastic bags are require for hygiene purpose. Imagine, every household just pour or throw whatever into the common refuse chute.
the recycling bin at some HDB estate are not properly maintain. the one near my house, if already full for 1 week and no one here to collect.
the idea is good but govt lack the drive to implement it.
another 1 small reason why they dont deserve the multi million salary. -
Precisely... that's why I say they lack THOUGHT!!!Originally posted by reyes:NTUC start this campaign with no long term purpose.
how is 1 day gona make a difference? they should propose rebates for customer if they bring their own bags. that is social responsibility.
if govt really have the intend to implement, they should start educate our young children at first.stop all plastic bag usage in all govt ministries, stats boards.
moreover the design of the flats nowadays require all household to dump their rubbish at common refuse chute. thus plastic bags are require for hygiene purpose. Imagine, every household just pour or throw whatever into the common refuse chute.
the recycling bin at some HDB estate are not properly maintain. the one near my house, if already full for 1 week and no one here to collect.
the idea is good but govt lack the drive to implement it.
another 1 small reason why they dont deserve the multi million salary.
The next thing you know, they will increase their pay again this time citing higher pay improves ministers' thinking abilities... -
My family recycles but have to keep the rubbish for 2 weeks cos the truck only comes fortnightly.
That is the reason why most can't be bothered!