Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Would you pay for your plastic bag in Malaysia?
Would you pay for your plastic bag in Malaysia?
If you think I'm joking, I'm not. On average, every 2 people that come out of carrefour subang (for example) carry 3-4 bags. A person, on average, may use in excess of 20 bags, big and small. Now, say the government imposes taxes on plastic bags. Hypermarkets start charging people 50 cents per large bag instead of wantonly grabbing a bag and charging them for it. By very simple economic principles, plastic bag use will drop very dramatically. And it works. shops in Ireland charges 15 euro cents per bag now, and usage has dropped 95%. Australia is trying to the same thing. Carrying your own bag is no hassle; whatever item I can shove into my backpack I won't ask for an extra bag (i'm a college student). An empty plastic bag can easily fit into a pocket if you don't have a bag. Think about it. And got any better ideas?
Malaysia - 8 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Australia is trying to do the same? I am not aware of this. here we have 'go green' bag. almost all grocery stores sell them. of course we have to pay around 99 cents for a bag (im just guessing.it was a really long time ago) but we can use over and over again. its better than plastic bag bcoz it is environmentally friendly. u can also shove it in ur handbag. u can scrunch it, punch it, fold it, and u can still use it. here is the bag. http://i.treehugger.com/files/go-green-bag.jpg i dont know if this is available in malaysia.
2 :
I will, but i prefer bringing my own bag. I won't ask for plastic bags if the items i bought is small enough to put in my bag.
3 :
I'd usually say 'no' to plastic bags if I'm buying items I could carry on my own and I'll keep them in my bag (yeah I usually carry a pouch or a day pack with me, no joke)... Believe it or not, we ARE paying for the plastic bags. Its all in those little numbers we often overlook on the price tag and receipt, and it doesn't say 'plastic bags' of course...
4 :
Absolutely agree with you. Many countries now make consumers pay for plastic bags or paper bags by law, to reduce wasteage, recyling, and for environmental friendliness. And all such bags are made from recycleable and environmentally friendly materials as well. I'm for it 100%. And I can see taht Malaysia should be made into law for these reasons as the wasteage and environmetal problems for plastic bags is very very bad.
5 :
for sure I will pay, if I have the option to provide my own. Anything to keep our wonderful country clean and pristine, I am all for.
6 :
I think that in Malaysia, it is relatively convenient for consumers not to be given plastic bags. For example, Giant hypermarket always has their carpark close to exits where you can just reload your merchandise back into the trolley and wheel it to your car. (Majority of us drives, dont we.) PLUS, hypermarkets do not charge for the use of trolleys which means that we do not need to return it to specified locations and we can just chuck your trolley aside when we load our merchandise into our car boot. I think government should start by implementing "Green days" where plastic bags will not be given for free and encourage people to bring their own shopping bags. Slowly. the government can educate citizens on the Reduce principle in the 3Rs (Reduce, reuse, recycle) However, we still need plastic bags for our trash. Thus, charging for plastic bags results in a reduce in supply of plastic bags in households and may create other problems. Much is required to be done before the tax is finally implemented. Government must ensure that citizens understand WHY and HOW they can practise 3Rs. Follwed by implementing this slowly such as giving plastic bags only on request or NOT giving on certain designated days.
7 :
Whatever said and done, it will never happen in Malaysia. Malaysians are just ignorant and have no feeling towards the environment. The only day Malaysia will change is that a large meteor hit Malaysia killing the 24 million population leaving behind 2 million population to come up with a new bred.
8 :
Better start using paper backs or bringing own bag for carrying luggage..
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