Straits Times Forum 29 Jun 09;
I WOULD like to address the lack of basic environmental awareness among Singaporeans. There are two areas: plastic shopping bags and disposable plastic or styrofoam food boxes.
It disheartens me to note that nothing much has been done by retail stores or supermarkets to curb use of plastic bags. Granted, there have been meagre efforts such as certain stores charging an additional 10 to 20 cents for their issue on certain days. Others sell colourful recycle bags at cashier counters for more than $1. Most customers would probably pay a few cents for a plastic bag rather than bring their own cloth bag. Such measures are self-defeating if the goal is to reduce the use of plastic bags.
I am sure everyone is aware of the damaging effects plastic and styrofoam have on the environment. However, while individual responsibility like bringing your own reusable bag will help, what we need is a bold government initiative to clamp down on the use of plastics.
From June 1, China effectively banned the use and manufacture of thin plastic bags nationwide. The underlying reason was to lower environmental pollution and save on the large amounts of oil used to produce plastic. On June 8, the United Nations environment chief said there was zero justification for the use of plastics any more.
While an outright ban will be unreasonable and difficult to implement, a more substantial effort such as charging an additional 40 to 50 cents per plastic bag will be beneficial in the short term. This would transfer the environmental cost - one cannot put a price but there needs to be a reasonable disincentive - to the consumer. In addition, retailers will buy less plastic from their suppliers when demand falls.
We will also need alternative materials to replace plastic and styrofoam food boxes. Food boxes made of recycled paper and other materials could be a start.
Singapore has been exemplary in many aspects when it comes to going 'green'. This is a longstanding leak that needs to be plugged now. If we are to be at the forefront of the 'green' revolution that is to come, this is a blemish we need to get rid of.
Darren Yong
Let's not go back to the 50s to save the earth
Straits Times Forum 29 Jun 09;
I REFER to the Forum Online letter by Madam Seah Nida, 'Take drastic steps to curb use of plastic and styrofoam' (June 17), and disagree with her unrealistic condemnation of anything plastic.
I would like to pose a question to environmentalists: What would happen if the world suddenly eschewed all plastic packaging and switched to leaf wrappers?
Banana, lotus, bamboo and coconut leaves make the best food wrappers. We used them before the leap to the modernity of plastic bags and containers, and styrofoam for hygiene, light weight, mouldability, automatic packaging and convenience.
Leaves are practical, multi-purpose and environment-friendly. Could we use them to wrap McDonald's breakfasts, takeaways at foodcourts and hawker centres? Is it cost-effective and hygienic to auto-pack individual items like sushi, sashimi, nonya kueh, sweet rolls and cakes in bamboo leaf wraps in food factories? Can the food industry use banana leaves to pack tofu, fishcake and ice cream?
Using leaves may cost us dearly because of the sheer quantity needed to meet modern-day packaging requirements. Imagine the amount of leaves to be harvested and the loss of carbon dioxide converters. The key is progress and choosing the lesser of two evils.
Let us find sustainable and practical substitutes for food wrapping materials and plastic bags before eschewing plastics.
It is not helpful to echo the calls of environmentalists to ban plastic bags and use paper or biodegradable materials. In fact, plastic and biodegradables virtually do not decompose in landfill where garbage is kept from air and water to prevent bad materials from leaching into ground water. Nor can incinerators help reduce global warming. We can only mitigate by cutting use of fossil fuels to balance plastic consumption.
To save the earth, I do not want to go back to the 1950s and use plant leaves to wrap food. However, I am prepared to compromise and take my own reusable canvas bag shopping.
Paul Chan
