relief goods plastic bags... the next cause of calamity

Maybe they will learn when the rest of the world does. Those bags are everywhere here in the usa too. I see them stuck in tree branches too. Flying throught the air on windy days. I usually reuse them as trash bags. There has been talk in the news media about banning these bags because the land fills are full of them. My question about that idea is if those bags are not used for trash then we have to buy trash bags or what? I wish people can be more thoughtful to our planet. If iam out somewhere and need to throw something away and no trash can is available i take it home and throw it away unless i pass a trash bin along the way. I have to be careful where i keep the bags in the house because one of my cats loves chewing big holes in the plastic bags.

WE have that same problem with plastic here in the states. They are so bad for the environment. I watched a documentary a while back on what these plastic bags did to our oceans and sea life. It would make you sick. I'm not sure but I would imagine that the images of the effects could be found somewhere on the internet. Its not good.

It just goes to show that there is no strong political will on the part of those who run the government. There should be a massive information campaign to educate the public about the ill effects of plastic. The devastating effects of non bio-degradable plastics are widely seen in the aftermath of the last 2 typhoons but the public remained indifferent. Those in authority show no interest aside from saying using plastic is not good. If other countries are making steps to cut the use of plastics and introduce the use of bio-degradable kind, why can't we? Of course, the answer will be they are expensive and not cost effective? We are a poor country and can not afford the technology. If we are to find solutions to this problem, it must start from those who are in leadership. Of course, the citizenry must also unite and introduce changes in attitude towards the environment. Unfortunately, what we see are indifference, complacency and utter disregard for the environment. If we don't take these calamities as a wake-up call, then we are doomed. have fun

Yes I also think that this is a major problem. I think there should be a collecting site/place in evacuation centers where the plastic bags could be surrendered by the evacuees and thus returned to foundations so it can be reused instead of using new plastic bags. My two cents, from the past flooding and typhoon we should start to be conscious of our actions. Maybe there is still hope for our environment if we start now.

Plastic bags has been used to every relief operation to every calamity that happened in our country... i think people at this point do not think of what this can do to our future... but i sure hope the beneficiaries are reusing these plastic bags or disposing of them properly...

I think we don't any alternative to it. And people don't know if there were alternatives to it. So no choice because we don't want to use paper bags either it will just no use.And in time like that we don't think of other things than to help those who are in need. Maybe this will be our lesson and we can learn from this after this we have to rebuild and evaluate what things to be done.

It is ironic that plastic bags that were washed ashore and caused so much drainage clogging is being widely spread in the relief operations. I don't think that the foundations giving away these relief goods are that aware of the consequences of packing all the relief in plastic bags. One reason that I can see why they used plastic bags is to protect the goods from getting wet, especially if the relief will be given to areas that are still inundated with flood water. I guess, we all have to do our part in order to save our environment by minimizing our use of plastic bags. I have been a member of a supermarket that promotes cloth bags for shopping for three years now. I can tell you that I never realized that I could cut down that much plastic when I used these cloth bags. In these hard times, everyone should make a stand in saving our environment, even in little ways.

There's a great deal of concern about plastic bags, and certainly en masse they cause problems if just dumped everywhere, but I have far more concern about the 'hard' plastic that's used for packaging around the world. This is much less biodegradable, much harder to get rid of, and can't be recycled. I go to the cafe and they put sandwiches in hard plastic containers. What for? I buy batteries, and they're in plastic containers that have to be torn apart before you can into them. What's the point? Manufacturers need to look at how they package stuff. This is more of an issue than plastic bags, to me. http://www.socyberty.com/Issues/A-Future-without-Plastic

Yup that is true..... Since plastic bags are the next best thing to pack this relief goods since they are durable and doesn't easily get wet when sent to affected areas. But I think you are right the next thing we will realized that these plastic bags used will become the next nightmare in the community since there is no way where this used bags go but everywhere. Since in those areas there is no proper place to place their garbage we might as well see them floating around their place. I just hope that this would not clog our rivers again when strong downpour will happen.

Yes you are right. I have noticed on TV the tons of plastic bags used in the relief goods. And there are plenty of organizations helping that use lots of these bags. I just hope the people will be responsible enough and look back at some causes of clogged drainage and floodings. They can actually help by giving back to the organizations these bags so it can be reused. And I think those who are giving the relief gods can also give hints about not throwing them anywhere. I know people are hungry and they always think where to find food but there are lull moments in evacuation centers where they just do nothing.

Next cause of calamity? I think plastics had done their job in getting back on us people who doesn't care. Extraordinary amount of water could have been easily exited through the sea if not for our silted rivers caused by garbages that cannot be degraded, like plastics. But I think plastic bags were the choice for relief goods so to keep the goods dry. Almost all the places for relief goods are flooded areas so its of sane thinking to have them in plastic bags. People uses them well though in barbaric ways. Their waste products would be wrapped in plastics and let them float in flooded areas causing diseases. That attitude would really make plastic the medium of disaster.

i think the problem is lack of knowledge and sense of responsibility, which is actually n0t s0mething a pers0n c0uld understan overnight. But in times of crisis, whats impt for a hungry pers0n is food and for a shivering pers0n is shelter.