by: Angela Lopez De Leon
BEGINNING today and every Wednesday thereafter, more malls and supermarkets will observe "Reusable Bag Day" by not providing free plastic bags for their customers’ purchases or charging them a fee for preferring plastic bags.
The "Reusable Bag Day Campaign" was launched last month by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in partnership with the National Solid Waste Management Commission, Earth Day Philippines Network, and the retail industry under the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association, Philippine Retailers Association and some other participating stores.
Some of the bigger outlets like the Ayala Malls, Ever Malls, Hi-Top Supermarket, Isetann Malls, Makro, Robinson’s Supermart, Savemore, and SM Hypermart have been implementing this for some time now despite initial resistance from customers.
The campaign calls for concerted efforts to shift public consciousness from using plastic bags to reusable bags to address the environmental hazard posed by improper disposal of plastic bags.
The environmental group EcoWaste Coalition, however, appealed to participating retailers to bring down the price of their eco-friendly bags for the benefit of consumers on tight budgets. The group said the current price of reusable bags which range from P25 to P295 each will not attract ordinary consumers who might want an alternative to plastic bags but cannot afford the reusable bags’ price.
"Budget-conscious consumers, even if they appreciate the ecological benefits of reusable bags, are put off buying anything expensive," said Sonia Mendoza of the EcoWaste’s Task Force on Plastics.
EcoWaste said Hi-Top’s reusable bags are P25 each; SM, P35 each; National Book Store, P65; Healthy Options, P75; Robinson’s, P90; Shopwise/Rustan, P99.50 for canvas and P60 for waterproof bags; and Body Shop, P295 each.
"We definitely welcome the initiative of these market leaders to introduce eco-friendly bags and we hope that more supermarkets and stores will join the green bandwagon," Mendoza said. "Any scheme that will allow consumers to get their reusable bags for free or at a discounted or subsidized price will hopefully bring about increased preference and demand for reusable bags,"
Mendoza suggested the promotion of home-based, job-generating industry in the provinces, with support from the private and public sectors, that can flood the market with more affordable and durable eco-friendly bags made from non-plastic, cloth-based, and locally-sourced materials, knowing that plastic reusable bags will soon disintegrate and pose disposal problems.
Ecowaste advised retailers to encourage their customers to make and bring their own reusable bags by providing financial and non-financial rewards such as discount, rebate, movie or museum pass for earth-friendly buyers.
Gloria Estenzo-Ramos of the Philippine Earth Justice Center advised consumers to make a "financial sacrifice" and spend money for reusable bags – if they are not able to make their own – for the sake of the environment. She pointed out that Chapter IV of RA 9003 provides for various incentives to encourage and support local government units, business enterprises, non-government organizations and other entities to actively implement ecological solid waste management, including waste prevention, reduction, reuse and recycling activities.
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