MMDA urges shoppers to reuse plastic bags

MANILA, Philippines – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is urging shoppers to reuse their plastic shopping bags and help lessen the volume of plastic materials and trash that would later end up clogging the Metro’s flood-pumping stations.

“If shoppers have plastic bags which they had before, they should bring these again and reuse it when they again go shopping,” said MMDA general manager Robert Nacianceno.

Nacianceno said the MMDA is also strongly supporting the use of reusable grocery bags and the use of the traditional “bayong” or a bag made of woven palm leaves in the market instead of using more plastic bags.

Earlier, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) entered into an agreement with the country’s largest malls and groceries to hold “Reusable Bag Day” every Wednesday.

Under the scheme, malls and supermarkets would no longer give plastic bags for free every Wednesday. In addition, supermarkets will give incentives to shoppers who will bring with them reusable shopping bags.

If a shopper asks for a plastic bag they will be charged for every bag they get. Each stakeholder or supermarket owner is free to set the price for each plastic bag that a customer requests. This will serve as a disincentive to encourage customers to bring their own bags instead.

According to Nacianceno, the DENR’s move is perfectly in-line with their drive against littering in Metro Manila.

DENR records showed that 756,986 kilos of garbage or debris were collected from both shoreline and waterways during cleanup operations last year. Plastic bags made up 300,176 kilos or nearly half of the collected garbage.