Public urged to ditch 5 “toxic” yellow bags

CEBU, Philippines - A waste and pollution watchdog urged the public once again to switch to reusable carry bags that do not contain lead and other toxins such as cadmium and mercury in view of the latest laboratory findings that five yellow plastic sando bags contain lead, a highly toxic metal banned in the manufacturing of food and beverage packaging.

The Ecowaste Coalition likewise asked the public to exercise their right to product information and insist on knowing what chemicals are present in bags and containers being offered for sale, plastic or not, single-use or reusable.

The group, in a statement sent to The Freeman, said that non-reusable bags must be phased out altogether including so-called degradable bags or lead-free bags - if there is such a thing -, which are just proprietary attempts to perfect a wrong idea.

The group said that based on the laboratory analyses, “Centrum” yellow sando bag has 168 parts per million of lead, “Swimmer” 322 ppm, “White Dove” 365 ppm, “Sunshine” 437 ppm and “Mercury” 521 ppm.

SGS, a global testing company, performed the test using US EPA Method 3052 to determine the total lead.

The group released the results as the world celebrates International Plastic Bag-Free Day today, July 3.

Sonia Mendoza, chairperson of Mother Earth foundation and vice president of the group said that the lead in the single-use carry bags could be attributed to the ink or colorant used to color the bags yellow.

Under Administrative Order 2013-024 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds, the use of lead in the production of packaging for food and drink is strictly prohibited.

Mendoza in the same statement said that their discovery of lead in the plastic sando bags, which are typically used for both dry and wet goods, including cooked or raw foodstuff, gives one more reason why consumers should ditch plastic bags in favor of eco-friendly and non-toxic reusable bags and containers.

She added that while the tests were not meant to establish if the lead in these plastic bags could leak and pose risk to human health, it is clear that lead is being introduced to commerce through these bags.

The toxic bags, Mendoza further said, would later end up as garbage, sent to the dumps, discarded in waterways or incinerated as fuel in cement kilns, causing far-reaching and persistent environmental contamination as lead, being an element, cannot be destroyed. — (FREEMAN)