Small inconvenient for a big future

Baggage of the past
THE STAR SAYS...

COME Jan 1, Penang will create a precedent of sorts with a total ban on the use of plastic bags at all hypermarkets, supermarkets, departmental stores, pharmacies, fast-food restaurants, nasi kandar restaurants and convenience stores (including those at petrol stations).
Operators of mini-markets and sole proprietorships will also be asked to enforce the ruling but for three days a week – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The ruling does not mean that plastic bags will totally disappear from the state as many outlets, including the bustling hawker community that is synonymous with Penang, have been spared, for now at least.
Despite rumblings from various quarters – including women who wonder how they will discard their used sanitary pads – we should view the state’s initiative as part of the growing movement towards a greener future for all.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is standing firm as he believes “the people should look on the positive side of the move, which stood to benefit the future generation in the long run.”
To think of the future generation is both necessary and noble, as we have seen how long-term plans are scuttled by short-term expediency, especially of the political nature.
In this context, the Penang Government should be given credit where it is due.
The bigger picture, however, extends beyond the banning of plastic bags.
We must, first of all, be clear of how such a ruling can be effectively implemented. Malaysians, after all, are pretty good at finding loopholes in any regulation.
The state used a staggered approach to implement the policy, from one day to three days to every day. So, there is no excuse for people finding difficulty in adjusting.
In fact, allowing the smaller outlets the three-day option is counter-productive as shoppers will only use their green bag on “No Plastic Day” and continue to use plastic bags on “normal” shopping days.
For those who feel plastic bags are needed to be reused as garbage bags, the long-term aim must be to strive for zero waste. We must recycle all we can and compost the organics so that there will be little waste left.
The movement to ban the use of plastic bags is not new. Many countries, including emerging giants like China and India, are heading in the same direction.
Politicians and corporations all around the world ponder over banning or taxing plastic bags but there is no clear solution in sight.
Ireland is often cited as a good example. In 2002, it imposed a hefty surcharge that spurred the public there to spurn plastic bags almost completely in favour of reusable cloth bags. But the 90% reduction in plastic-bag use should be viewed against the fact that there was a 400% increase in the local production of plastic garbage bags.
Four years later, most consumers had switched back to using plastic shopping bags, despite the tax, because they found it more convenient to do so.
It is clear that the ban on the use of plastic bags will have limited impact on the overall green agenda if the bigger issues are not addressed.
We need to embrace the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) model and to address waste-management issues through a combination of public education, enforcement of the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007, and cleaning programmes by local authorities.
As individuals, we also need to minimise our own carbon footprint. If we go to a hypermarket, we must shop wisely and not go on a buying spree simply because of the discounts. We must audit what we buy, whether they come in plastic bags or not.
The green agenda can only be embraced by creative and comprehensive planning backed by strong political will, education and a carrot-and-stick approach.
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It is funny when a small inconvenience can cause a roar. Some people in Penang are complaining about how they will discard their used sanitary pads and rubbish come 1st January 2011.

I was brought up in a small community of 13 families nearby the old Star Cinema opposite the Pudu Market. There was not a single toilet or latrine in any of these wooden houses. To empty our bowel we had to go down hill about three minutes away, where four latrines were located. Using these latrines is no fun as we had to be on the look out for peeping toms who did not mind the smell for an eye view. Then there was also no such thing as pipe water. To do our washing and bathing we had to go further down another three minutes to a man made pond. For cooking purpose we purchase water from a coffee shop direct opposite of Pudu Market and when we are desperately in need of a good clean bath, it was also from there. Each purchase cost us 10 cents. For cooking we used chopped woods and kerosene and for lighting we relied on the old kerosene or carbide lamps. We also did not have the luxury of having rubbish collectors to collect our rubbish. So what did we do, we found alternatives to live our lives.

After 7pm no-one from our little village dares to venture down to the latrines. Emergency we had to use layer and layer of newspaper sometimes if lucky the top layer would be a banana leaf to do our business. Then we bungkus it and leave it outside the kitchen door. For a light job we have the old faithful piss pot. Come daylight small kids like me are given a couple of cents for each packet to thrown into the latrine. Piss pots are empty into a common hole. Household rubbishs are packed the same like our business and are then taken to Pudu market to dispose off. Plastic bags were unknown then.

For shopping we use square cloth to tie up our goods if we had forgotten to bring along our rattan baskets.

So I hope that with Global warning sounding round the world, the people of Penang would use some common sense to save a piece of earth for our children and also to set an example to our Federal Government that if there is a will nothing is impossible.