is your town concerned with the environment?
By secretbear
@secretbear (19448)
Philippines
September 20, 2008 7:47am CST
there's a new town ordinance here. all stores are prohibited to use plastic bags. every stuff the customers would buy should be placed in paper bags. unless the customers bring their own plastic bags, the stores would use brown paper bags to pack the stuffs their customers would buy.
i was doing a little shopping this afternoon when i noticed that not one store have placed my bought items in a plastic bag. the first store i went to was a clothing store. i bought a tee-shirt and they put it in a paper bag. there wasn't anything unusual about it because they have been using paper bags ever since. i went to the drugstore and i was a little surprised because they put my vitamins in a small brown paper bag. before, they always use plastic. i bought a five-pack yogurt drink and two bags of chips and the attendant asked me if i wanted it placed in a box! the cashier and the attendant told me they are now prohibited to issue plastic bags and asked me instead if i just wanted my stuffs to be put in a paper bag. and i said yes.
i'm actually thankful that our town is finally doing something to regulate the use of plastic bags here because there's just too many of them already. in our house alone, we have a lot of plastic bags stored everywhere because we can't just throw it away. we recycle what we can recycle. its good that our town officials are showing concern for our environment. 
12 people like this
43 responses
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
yeah. its a good thing that our town is concerned with the environment. i just hope that people will cooperate.
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
26 Sep 08
haha.. YEah, plastic bag rule has been implemented in singapore for almost 6-9 months.. hehe ^_^ BUt not all the shops are sticking to that rule just yet, only those major supermarkets are doing it.. hehe =D
When it was 1st implemented, the no plastic bag rule, only applies to the 1st wed of the month, but soon it was too complicated and so they make it to every wed.. haha =D ANd if we want a plastic bag for our groceries, we will have to 'donate' for the bag.. lol =D IN the end, it's still the government who's still earning the money for the plastic bags.. haha
UNlike ikea, they stictly dun give any plastic bags everyday, and if we really needed one, we have to buy them.. haha =D BUt at least, ikea is much more striaght forward to ask us to buy, instead of donating.. lol
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
hi kun! well, i'm not surprised anymore that Singapore has that kind of law. its definite now that your country is an environment-loving country. 
1 person likes this
@annettenasser (2992)
• Kuwait
28 Oct 08
yes in my town, people are planting many trees and saving eneergies, they are conserving water and segregating garbage into each kind. they are having one place of each kind of garbage.
1 person likes this
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
28 Oct 08
I use a cloth bag isntead of a plasic bag. I think it is my duty to use recycable stuff in order to protect the environment. We should safeguard our environment for the sake of he others that are coming after us. My country has made a big educational campaign to use other mans of bags instead of the plastic bags. I really have my doubts whehter its targets have been reached or not. © ronaldinu 2008
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
hi ronald! yes. it is everyone's duty to protect the environment, not only for our own sake but for the sake of the future generations.
@tyc415 (5706)
• United States
20 Sep 08
There is talk of using paper bags again here where I live. I get so tired of seeing the plastic bags hanging in trees everywhere also. Used to when my husband would go to the grocery store he would ask for paper and they would have to hunt it down and then it got to where they didn't have it. He was at Wal Mart the other day and complained about the plastic bags and ask when they were going to go to paper, I can't ever remember Wal Mart using paper, and he was told when they are forced to use paper bags unless people brought their own bags they would be charged for the paper bags!!!
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
23 Sep 08
hi tyc! that's what is happening in our town now. the establishments won't issue plastic bags anymore or they would pay a huge fine. people can insist though but they would have to pay for it. people who recycles would bring their own plastic bags.
@borgborg (821)
• Philippines
29 Oct 08
No, I don't think so though they are claiming they are concern in cleaning the environment. Just today they distributed flyers about recycling which by the way is really hard to understand because the words were not clearly thought of, and plastic bags to put our trash. This made me think that its really not environment friendly whenever we use plastic bags. I hope they implement tree planting activities instead to help clean the air instead!
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
3 Oct 08
It's still ridiculous...if you receive a paper bag for every little item you buy it still adds up to excessive. I so wish people would take their own shopping bags with them. It's bad enough that the manufacturers find it necessary to use so much packaging but we still insist on putting our packaged purchases into still more packaging.
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
yeah. the use of paper bags isn't environment-friendly as well. the ordinance is encouraging though the people to bring their own bags when they are shopping or doing the grocery. but i see a lot of people not bringing their own bag. but there are some who are wise enough to bring their own bag.
@grecychunny26 (9483)
• Philippines
23 Sep 08
Where did you live? Here in our town there are no ordinance like that,but it is nice to know that there are town ordinance like that that are concerned with the environment. I wish my town could do the same, because you know it is much easier if we use paper, but i don't know during rainy days, when you have all your goods in a paper bag and it rain and you don't have anything to shelve because you don't have an umbrella, but that is a scenario only,it is still a good to have an ordinance like that. Kudos!
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
hi grecy! i live here in Los Banos, Laguna. ^__^ oh i just got into that scenario last Friday! i went out and bought some clothes and i didn't brought an umbrella with me. when i went home it started raining and i used the paper bags to shield me from the rain. the clothes inside got a little wet. i guess it would be better to bring old plastic bags and recycle them than to use paper bags. we'd be helping the environment too that way since paper bags came from trees.
@whyaskq (7523)
• Singapore
21 Sep 08
We have a "bring your own bag day" every week otherwise we have to pay for the plastic bags which cost 10 cents per plastic bag. We have recycle bins around housing estates and there are recycling companies who goes round collecting items which can be recycled. I guess we are doing out bit to go green.
1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
25 Sep 08
Paper bags can be recycled so many ways. Esp. for making patterns. My Mom always used paper bags to make patterns for my doll clothes and for me when I was little. Also they can be decorated and used as gift bags around the holidays.
We are encouraged to bring cloth bags. If we forget, most stores have cloth bags that we can buy. There are plastic bag recycling binds at our stores, too. Most times we can ask for paper. There are bags for frozen food, too that are double walled and have a plastic cleanable lining. Good topic, thanks and take care.
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
we also recycle paper aside from recycling plastic bags. thanks for the response writersedge.
@kwenge (2487)
• Kenya
23 Sep 08
yes my town is trying to ban plastic bag usage.........there is a by-law that was improvised early this year that shops should use paperbags and any shopper who will be caught carrying their shopping in polythene bags they will face the law. people are only scared of being jailed and not conserving the environment.......there are others who really prefer plastic bags becuase when they get rained on their stuff is not going to get wet. It is good that the government banned it and have increased tax on those plastic bags so that they become expensive.
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
that's good for your town kwenge. but i guess we can always recycle those old plastic bags from before so we don't have to use paper bags. coz we know, we get these papers from trees.
but i guess we can always recycle those old plastic bags from before so we don't have to use paper bags. coz we know, we get these papers from trees.
@newzealtralian (3930)
• Australia
24 Sep 08
Many of the stores where we are have started to charge customers for the use of plastic bags or are using paper bags.
We reuse our paper bags as bin liners, so I think our usage of them is responsible, especially when you consider the ones that are still in use here are the ones that break down really quickly. Trust me, I have to store them out of the light or the next time I put something in them, I end up with the item on the floor or worse, my foot!!!!
We also buy alot of the cloth bags, which seem to get used for the laundry more than any thing else, but I do have one with me all the time when I go out for the smaller items I buy.
There needs to be more done though, as even the cloth and paper bags are still putting a significant strain on our enviornment, just in different ways.
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
yeah. everything we use put a strain on the environment. recycling is really important. and even if we can't get rid of the strains, we can at least minimize it.
@iyah10 (4115)
• Kuwait
21 Sep 08
My Country Kuwait was just a small country and yes we are much more concern about the environment and the Government is really working hard unto this matter to maintain the orderliness and cleanliness and maintain to be green as well and using a paper bags is a useful tips as well rather than using the plastic bags....
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
hi iyah! that's good for your country. we really should be concerned especially now that there's global warming and climate change.
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
how can it be useless to care for the environment? we are living in it! we should care for it.
@biggerb (2024)
• India
21 Sep 08
My town has just woken up and I see alot of sign boards which say'do not use plastic'.The shop keepers too were given a warning not to give these plastic carry bags.The authorities finally came down heavily and started checking shops to see if they still had plastic bags.They began to levy heavy fines so slowly people are waking up.Shops insist on paper bags or cloth bags.As it is I think we are late in realizing the bad effects plastic is doing to the environment.Everyone should conscientiously make an effort to do away with plastic.I do not know if you have watched the documentary by Al Gore "The Inconvenient Truth".It really scares us to know what it is going to be like for the future generation
.I feel really sad
that we have enjoyed so much and our great grand children are really going to suffer.I think every one who has concern for the environment should watch this documentary.This will make everyone sit up and do their bit to save our planet.Hope each one of us will work towards saving our planet.
.I feel really sad that we have enjoyed so much and our great grand children are really going to suffer.I think every one who has concern for the environment should watch this documentary.This will make everyone sit up and do their bit to save our planet.Hope each one of us will work towards saving our planet.@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
28 Sep 08
hi biggerb! that's a great move for your town. i hope people would wake up before something bad can happen.
1 person likes this
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
21 Sep 08
My town and the towns around me aren't too big on the environment. I wish they would at least implement a recycling program but I don't see that happening anytime soon. The only time recycling occurs is once every few months and how many people want to keep items around for that long? No one.
The other stuff I can do on my own. I just want them to bring in recycling.
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
28 Sep 08
maybe they haven't experienced a severe calamity brought by nature that's why they are being inconsiderate. people are like that, they tend to act only when the problem is already there.
@aseretdd (13730)
• Philippines
21 Sep 08
That is a great way to help the environment... all towns should have such an ordinance because we all know the negative effects of plastic... but then if that happens a lot of people might become unemployed because factories that supply plastic bags will no longer have any customers...
Here in my town there is an ordinance about garbage segregation... but sad to say that the implementation is very poor... so your town officials must be very good at implementation...
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
28 Sep 08
i hope that this ordinance would not "die off" as time passes by. i hope it would continuously be strictly implemented here. we are not known as the science and nature city for nothing.
@applefreak (3130)
• Singapore
21 Sep 08
sigh, sad to say this has not been implemented here where i am. plastic bags are still given out freely on most days. there is one day in a week where customers will have to pay for them though. as for myself, i don't take plastic bags most of the times. for things that i buy, i either dump it into my bag or carry them with my hands. i deliberately got a big bag for this purpose. cheers ;p
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
well, at least there's that one day in the week. that could be a start. ^__^ its good that you have the initiative to carry your own bag.
@kame_w (104)
• China
21 Sep 08
talking about the environmental issues,
in my country there is no free plastic bags any more in supermarket or shopping mall. Anyone who wants plastic bag while shopping should pay for that. And I think it is a good start to protect our environment, just start from our daily life, like no air condition day, take public transportation instead of private car. But I think it has some difficults for people to do so. So it might be good for the government to set a rule regulate it in order to make people familar it, then much easier to become a national movement.
1 person likes this
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
2 Nov 08
hi kame! you're right. saving the environment should start with our daily lives. we can contribute in our own little ways. its good that there's no free plastic anymore in your country.
@jamesnogra (381)
• Philippines
21 Sep 08
yes there quite concerned with the environment. they put garbage bags in the and cans in every part of the street. its just the people here in our town who are not educated and throws their garbage anywhere. there were also garbage trucks that collects the trashes of people that goes from street to street.
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
28 Sep 08
hi jamesnogra! the local government unit should enforce fines to those people who would carelessly throw garbage just anywhere.
