An informed choice

In the course of some interviews we’ve made over the last few weeks, some controversial issues have cropped up which we found very interesting. One of these is the plastic issue which, as we all know, has very strong proponents and lobbyists.

Several municipalities have joined in the fight against plastic bags and have banned its use in their place: Muntinlupa (the first to take the bold step), Los Baños, Binan and Carmona. I understand Pasig City is also mulling this but has yet to find a more practical solution. I remember that when S&R Alabang was forced to comply with this, being part of Muntinlupa, checking out your groceries always presented a problem. The store did not have enough free boxes to supply the customers, and the meat and fresh produce were messy to handle without plastic bags. And of course the customers never quite learned to bring their own shopping bags. On our part, we had to keep buying the S&R bags which were actually very affordable at P100 per and quite durable but which we kept forgetting to load in the car for those grocery trips. We now have a collection of these in all the colors, not for anything else but because we always fail to remember our duty as good sentinels of the environment before setting out for the grocery.

Just how important are plastic bags in our day-to-day lives? Frankly, I have always taken these cheap but very efficient items for granted and I always thought that they would be around forever. Man’s abuses and utter disregard for the environment have finally taken their toll on mother earth so that now, these cheap bags that have become part of our lives for generations now come under fire for the destruction they have wrought on the environment.

I don’t know if a total ban is workable, but I do know that the calamities we have attributed to plastic bags simply boil down to an issue of discipline. We see landfills filled with plastic bags, esteros and canals clogged because mindless people living nearby just continuously dump their plastic bags and other garbage in these waterways. And these are the very same people who get the brunt of a typhoon’s wrath because they are in the immediate periphery. They rant and rue and plead to the government for rescue, temporary shelter and relocation, but within a month they’re at it again, dumping to their hearts’ content.

Can we actually live totally without plastic bags? That is pretty hard to imagine, but if we can come up with alternatives that are just as affordable, just as convenient and just as efficient, why not?

The obvious alternative packaging material for many is paper, but these are clearly not as strong to withstand weight and wetness. They are hardly reusable too, so we end up throwing these away after one use. These are resources that are biodegradable and thus friendly to the environment, but how many trees are we going to cut in this generation to keep providing paper bags that we can only use once?

The transition to a completely plastic-free world will be difficult, and if we can ever achieve this, it will certainly take many years. Even the question of disposing of your daily wet garbage is hard to address. Do you store them in jute bags or baskets, then keep washing these bags daily for reuse? Can we really handle that?

For now, I submit that a good system for recovery of these bags should be in place in each and every municipality, and the local government units should make this a priority concern. It is only at this level that we can achieve this, and we need the full cooperation not only of the LGUs but of the communities as well.

 Having established this, a good recycling system should now be adopted so that our planet will not get inundated by plastic. Plastic bags are considered low-value recyclables, but they nevertheless have some value. Recycling has become a whole new industry, believe it or not, one that employs quite a number of our marginalized citizens, and this industry is working together with the plastic industry to put a value on all recyclables. The LGUs can work with them in conjunction with their recovery program so that their efforts will at least have mitigated costs, and they would have done their duties to their communities. They can utilize their local eco aides, educate their community members on how to properly dispose of their refuse and efficiently collect the recyclables and get the best value for them, rather than have them ending up uselessly in landfills or worse, clogging up our waterways.

I understand that the plastic industry is in the process of developing oxo biodegradable bags as an alternative to plastic bags. These are supposed to biodegrade within a period of six months to two years, but they are still in the process of evaluating the product to make sure that it is safe and conforms to current world standards. In the meantime, I heard they are also using recyclable plastic bags and converting them to irrigation pipes for agricultural needs. Wow! Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. Before this hullabaloo came up, nobody thought of assigning any use to these lowly discards.

The plastic industry, not only here but I guess in all other countries as well, is beleaguered, but we must do what we have to do to save the environment. More R&D is needed, but pending safe, affordable and convenient alternatives, let’s also do the best with our present resources. By all means, let’s recover and recycle, and let’s do this efficiently. And for heaven’s sake, let’s mete out stiff penalties to the undisciplined lot, most especially those who reside near waterways and dump their plastic bags so carelessly.

It is not easy to displace 175,000 workers (directly employed in the plastic industry) and their families by calling for a swift and total ban on plastic bags. The plastic bag sector of this industry comprises the biggest chunk, such that 60 percent of this industry depends on these plastic bags. Let’s not be hasty.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

For comments: (e-mail) [email protected]