NEW STRAITS TIMES THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009

LETTERS ~ 19

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What benefits from a plastic-bag ban?

was a 400 per cent increase in the lo- spilled contents in cottonfabric bags. methane being released into the atWE refer to the letter "Carrefour raw material (cradle) up to its end of leads the way" (NST, Nov 16) and cal production of-plastic garbage A report this year by the director of mosphere. life Wave} at the disposal stage. This your "No-plastic days meet resisresearch services at Sporometrics, It is, therefore, an irony that many "cradle to the grave" technique. also bags. By 2006, consumers had switched Toronto, Canada, stated that "test environmentalist are harping on the tance" (NST,Nov 30). known as life Cycle Assessment back to using plastic shopping bags, findings clearly support concerns issue of degradation which releases (LCA), is essential to judge how a Oflate, the media has highlighted with an increase of 20 per cent in thatreusable bagscanbecome anaceither C02 or methane gas, only to product affects the environment. various views on the Penang governtive microbial habitat and a breeding see millions of dollars are being spent ment's decision to extend the "nobags used despite the tax. . Plastic bags - whether in terms of plastic bag day" policy beginning ground for bacteria, yeast, .mould on carbon capture and storage proThe bag-tax proponents respondthe total energy used, fossil fuel used, ed by raising the tax from 15p to 2Op. and coliforms ... This study provides grammes. waste disposal volume/weight or next year.c, At a pilliJjc dialogue organised by This again failed, and the tax is curstrong evidence that reusable bags Plastic bags are mainly made of greenhouse gas emissions - have rently being reviewed, with a tax of could pose a significant risk to the the Penang 'government in April, raw materials such as polyethylene, the lowest environmental impact which the'Maiaysian Plastics Forum safety of the food supply if used to which consists of carbon and hydrocompared, with any other packaging 30p-40p being considered. One obvious observation is that if transport food from store to home". gen. Even if plastics end up in material, co-sponsored, the Forum had called for a 3Rs work group consisting of all While there is no doubt that plastic landfills, due to its inert non-toxic Plastics, just like other materials, consumers are prepared to pay 20p stakeholders to look into the practice for a plastic shopping bag, it clearly bags are used a great deal in our daily properties, plastics stilldo not conwill have an adverse impact on the lives, many mistakenly, think that tribute. to toxic emissions or leaching of the 3Rs ffi.educe, Reuse, Recycle} indicates they need the. bag. Such environment if it is not properly manmodel and to address waste-mantaxes are, therefore, punitive and will .plastic bags are the largest eompoto the groundwater and soil coiitamaged.,. nent of landfills and the primary ination, . Our proposal to set up a work agement issues througha combinaonly cause hardship to consumers. " San Francisco panned plastic recomponent of'litter that is "harmful" In terms of manufacturirig, four group based on the 3Rs modelwould tion of public education, enforcement, tail bags in. Noveniliet:J007 to, inter of the Solid ~aste and Public Cleansbecause it does not degrade, and that per cent of the world's crude oil is effectively address an the. issues it releases toxic fumes or leachate. used to manufacture all fo'pns of raised With stakeholders working toIng. Management Act 2007, and alia, encourage the. nse'o~abl cleaning programmes by local augether 'towards 11 better environbags.',,' These are common misconceptions. plastic products, including plastics ment. " In a survey in September last year, Wl quote hereunder the statement bags. .,", thorities. it was found that.few switched to from the Australian Department Qf~. While a huge amount of crude oil is The Forum had, in fact, already Given that 80 per cent of 'plastic ~irculated nyer,.sto advise co~umers reusable bags. Instead, large numEnvironment, Water, Heritage )p:~d ~ fuel for ttansp<irta~.on (45 shopping bags are reused, mainly as garbage. -bin liners, the unintended bers of paper bags were issued; causthe Arts. .,. ,.r-per cent) and ,energy, heating and not to accept.elttr.a plastic bags when ing an even, greater environmental " .-(i) "Our consultancy report, 'f'Ize electricity (42 per cent); the;:e is spn result of- banning plastic-bag use buying 0nIrfi,.~\~ms .or items alimpact ",'{ Impact of Degradable Plastic Bags in the misconception that the produceven for a day, or imposing a levy on ready packed,~th carrymghandles, for Ilxample,tOiIetroUs. -. Also, the San Francisco Streets litAustralia, found that there is probation of lightweight polymer-based plastic bags, would be that most conThe Forum had submitted a membly little benefit obtained by using products causes the "depletion of oil sumers, who normally reuse plastic' ter Re-Audit 2008 showed that plasbags, will be financially burdened. biodegradable plastics if you dispose reserves. , orandum to the Penang government tic retail bags a compositlon of to, This is because they Would now: tal large litter increased from-o.60 them to Jand.fi11.This is because miIn fact, being lightweight, plastic in response to the campaign to stop giving out free plastic carrier bags in per cent before the ban to 0.64 per cro-organisms cannot survive the bags are much more energy-efficient, have to buy thicker-gauge 'plastic garbage bin liners. Consequently, we cent afterwards, dry, oxygen-deprived conditions norand have, therefore, contributed-toPenang every Monday, effective from mally found in landfills. wards sustaining limited energy rewill not see any reduction in the overthe first Monday of July this year. This showed that plastic bags make all tonnage of plastic bags ending up ~ The memorandum was issued to .for a. very small component of total "All sorts of biodegradable rnaterisources. help the state government and interlarge litter and the ban did not reduce in landfills. als, including food and paper, have Plastic bags are 100 per cent recythis composition. est groups decide on the use of plastic been found 'mummified' and preclable and the recycled resins have a' I( the authorities would like to do bags. " Consumers and check-out clerks something for the environment.>served in such conditions. Even if the wide spectrum of applications. To'say It also highlighted the following will inevitahly find themselves facing degradable materials degrade, the then that plastic waste recycling in stronger mechanisms to punish lit- . lessons learned from countries that a situation where queues build up at low oxygen level means that theY,re- Malaysia is not possible, or is not sig- terbugs should be in place to prohibit have imposed a ban or levy on plastic the checkout counters when con- lease methane as they break down --'- nificant, is inaccurate as current re- littering altogether; and provisions bags, or instituted bring-your-ownsumers forget to bring along alternafor. the collection and recyclirig 'of all a potent greenhouse gas". . _. Cycling operations are active and , materials, including- plastics, should tiye carrier bags and refuse to pay the (ii) "Plastic bags that are commonly profitable even without subsidies. bag policiess- ., be advocated. .. charge f,orthe plastic carrier .bags. -: "0 Even ifplastic bags arenot made replacedby degradable plastics actuPlastic bag uses 91 per centlesS enThe Forum stands by the good prinavailable to consumers 'at the point of ~ The issue of wire baskets and ally make up a small number (by vol- ergy to recycle and generate 60 per purchase, it would still be needed to grocery carts being stolen and goods ume) of the waste gQiilg into land.fi11, cent less greenhouse gas emissions , ciples of the 3Rs model and will concontain waste at the point of disposal being carried home in clothing to and most plastics are inert and do not tinue to run activitieS on the model. than paper bags. as other materials will not be suitable avoid paying the levy for plastic carricontribute to toxic emissions or The Forum wishes to also reiterate The Forum, therefore, caUs upon for this purpose. leaching." that plastic bottles made from the Penang government to urgently er bags is a common occurrence. A ban or levy will, therefore, only' " To combat pilfering, retailers have The truth, therefore, is that degrapolyethylene terephthalate (PE1) adopt the 3Rs model, as this 'apto, in turn, introduce extra security create a situation where there would dation, often in anaerobic conditions, ' should not be blamed for environproach would not only benefit the eninvariably be an increase in the use of measures and search consumers' vironment, but also not burden the causes the release, of methane which mental pollution. It is not the product rakyat, plastic garbage bin liners, which the bags, This results indelays. is a potent greenhouse gas. Degradaitself that pollutes but the behaviour consumers would now have to pay tion, in this sense, is therelQi'il- not of mankind. Calling for the ban of - The 3Rs model. in place of the " The loss of wire.Jlskewcarts, pilbanltaxmodcl. needs to be given a fering and the adJDinistrative cost infor, good. PET bottles does not address the root The oft-quoted case of Ireland curred by retailers in charging for chance to work. The non-degradation ofpl~, cause oflittering. therefore, in fact good for thiHJnViFinally, in determining which where a hag 1 of 15p (95 sen) in the plastic carrier bags will result in LlMKOKBOON the cost being-Included in the retail 2092 resulted in an initial 90 per cent ronment as it represents a form of packaging material is the best choice, reduction' in plastic-bag use should Chairman cost of products. carbon capture (carbon sequestrait is necessary to measure all the paMalaysian Plastics forum 00 viewed against the fact that, there " There is the hygiene issue of tion) without any carbon dioxide or rameters, from the initial stage of the

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