Trashy talk: Paper bag vs. plastic bag

Paper bag or plastic bag? This bag issue continues to bug us. And with the mounting garbage problem hounding us, it’s a question we just can’t ignore or throw away. From our bagful of e-mails, we got this:

Dear Consumerline,

Yes, it’s everybody’s right and duty to keep our planet green, but will banning the use of plastic bags really help beautify the earth? After reading your Consumerline (July 12) about plastic “trash,” I have some questions to ask the green advocates.

First, they suggest that paper bags be used to replace plastic bags in supermarkets  do they think paper is more environment-friendly? Paper comes from trees, and if all supermarkets adopt this alternative, don’t you think our forests would soon be depleted?

Secondly, during calamities and there are relief goods operations, isn’t it they also use plastic bags to contain the relief goods to be distributed to the evacuees? I dare them to use paper!

Thirdly, do you think these green groups are not using plastic bags for their household trash? Can you imagine what will happen to our environment if our trash is not packed in plastic bags and we just leave it outside our residence, and the garbage collectors do not come for days? On the contrary, plastic bags keep our surroundings clean!

Then, too, the alternatives to plastic bags in supermarkets are so much more expensive, like paper bags (thrice the price of plastic) and eco bags which can only fit a small amount of goods). Also, you can hardly bring home a paper bag, especially when you’re commuting or riding a motorbike.

We can recycle our plastic bags  every household should be taught how to segregate plastics, which they can eventually sell to a plastic scrap dealer, I think it’s P20-25 a kilo! See, you can still earn while helping keep our environment clean and healthy. Environment enthusiast

Now, let’s listen to this reply from a member of one of the green groups:

More fundamental than the question of disposing plastic bags (or burying them), we should first (and more appropriately) ask how to reduce our plastic bag consumption. We reduce our consumption, we reduce our discards.

To reduce our plastic bag consumption, here in the Philippines, we are very familiar with reusable bags as we have undoubtedly seen our grandparents, if not our parents, toting the sturdy bayong back in their days. Our bayong then was either made of buri, pandan, abaca, and various other organic local materials. These materials are as naturally biodegradable as they are tough in carrying heavy groceries. Nowadays, we also have canvas bags available  also made of organic, biodegradable fibers.

How about wet goods? It’s not as complicated as plastic bag peddlers would want us to think. At home, along with reusable bags, we also carry resealable wares to the market  this is where old ice cream tubs are most useful  to put wet goods into. In other places, they wrap wet goods in banana leaves or old newspapers.

So how do we deal with the plastic bags that we already have at home? It is true that they pose quite a disposal challenge as plastics do not biodegrade, so burying them would only aggravate our environmental problems. Moreover, even those that end up in landfills and dumpsites do not necessarily stay there since many factors, which could carry them elsewhere, are at play  wind, animals, human activity, etc.

This puts emphasis on the Zero Waste aphorism that says there is no such place as ‘away’. Disposing plastics properly in segregation bins is never enough as plastics don’t go ‘away’  they end up here and there, and pose dangers to whatever they encounter. We can be as creative in recycling plastic bags we have at home but at the end of the day  or at the end of a plastic bag’s useful life  we are still going to be left with bits and pieces of problematic plastic.

Really, there is no easy way of recycling plastics   which is why we ought to re-think and reduce the way we welcome plastic bags in our homes. The next is to have a proper, national take-back policy where producers are required to recover the plastic bags they generate and recycle them the way they claim they could.

BlackBerry is right in pointing out the possible role of LGUs (local government units) in the grand scheme of addressing our plastic pollution problems but, honestly, our troubles aren’t for the LGUs entirely to solve. Plastic bag producers and manufacturers have hitherto been generating plastic bags with impunity while we are left with the issue of dealing with their problematic products. It’s time we call their bluff: They say they can recycle their plastic bags, let’s have them do it.

We segregate our discards properly, LGUs collect them, and plastic bag producers take back and recycle them. That is, while we wean away from using plastic bags.

To answer Environment Enthusiast, please note that we never pushed for using paper bags. While paper bags are far better than plastic bags in many ways, we recognize the fact that their reusability is limited, compared to other natural fibers such as buri, pandan, abaca, jute, cotton, etc.  which are very available locally.

The plastic bag vs. paper bag argument is a trick question thrown out by plastic peddlers to divert our attention from the best available alternatives.

While LGUs who successfully banned plastics in their jurisdictions are now resorting to paper bags, it is never too late to discuss with them exploring best available alternatives.

Secondly, it is not up to environmental groups to criticize well-meaning individuals who do what they can to help in times of calamities. Emergency situations call for urgent responses  and we know that these situations do not always elicit impeccable reactions. What actually begs attention are people who, under normal circumstances, continue to put their goods in  or worse, peddle  plastic bags. Let us dare them to use reusable bags!

Thirdly, properly managed household wastes do not require liners. Only people who mix their waste face the self-inflicted problem of needing liners. Informal recyclers in my community have no problem taking our separated bottles, cans, and paper, and my backyard garden is happy from the compost I produce from my kitchen waste. I am free from the “created need” of plastic bags.

Fourthly, while it appears that reusable bags are more expensive at the moment, in the long run  as in the case of all reusable stuff  it will be, in fact, cheaper. Again, despite the fact that paper bags are better than plastic bags, it is far better that we choose reusable bags. They are tougher, more useful, and do not pose the inherent hazards plastic bags do, especially if no lead-added paint is used in the bag label or design.  

Please note that since best available alternatives are already in abundance here in the Philippines (thank God for bayong and canvas bags!), there is really no need for us to keep using plastic bags. Reusable bags are as safe after their useful life as they are reliable in their lifetimes.

Paeng Lopez

Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives  And finally, this down-to-eartquery:

Dear Consumerline,

I have a plastic bag full of empty medicine foil packs. Somebody might want to make something out of them, like grinding them finely to make glitters?

Bella Ramirez

A committed green advocate gives this environment-friendly solution:

I’m sure the medicine foil packs that you have can be recycled by our many enterprising kababayans.  If convenient, have them sent to our office at Unit 329, Eagle Court, 26 Matalino St., Barangay Central, Quezon City (Matalino St. is perpedicular to East Avenue).  Or we can have them collected by one of our staff if you live or work somewhere in Metro Manila.  Thanks, Bella for recycling!

Manny Calonzo

EcoWaste Coalition 

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