本地四大连锁超市首次与非政府组织“零废新加坡”合作，从本月至10月展开全国“自备购物袋”活动，并在八间超市设置环保袋捐赠箱，让居民捐出干净且可循环使用的多余购物袋。
职总平价合作社（FairPrice）、冷藏公司（Cold Storage）、百美（Prime）和昇菘（Sheng Siong）将在旗下八间超市举行48场路演与推广活动，届时除了将收集到的环保袋分发给没有自备袋子的消费者，还会随机给予自备环保袋购物的人士奖励，希望能向逾120万名消费者宣导环保信息，减低对塑料袋的依赖。
这八间超市分别是：嘉龙威购物广场（Kallang Wave Mall）的职总霸级超市、职总平价城市广场（City Square Mall）超市、冷藏公司启汇城（Fusionpolis）超市、冷藏公司勘宝坊（Compass One）超市、百美阿裕尼上段裕盛超市、百美裕廊西75街超市、昇松金文泰西2街超市和昇菘武吉班让Junction 10超市。
八间超市的收银员都将佩戴“BYOB”徽章，也会有意识地询问顾客是否需要塑料袋，以提醒与推动客户自备购物袋（Bring Your Own Bag，简称BYOB）。
环境及水源部兼卫生部高级政务部长许连碹博士星期三（7月3日）在嘉龙威购物广场职总霸级超市举行的启动仪式上，引述新加坡环境理事会最近公布的一项调查称，本地居民每年从超市索取8.2亿个塑料袋，相等于每人每次取走三个袋子。她认为尽管许多人用这些塑料袋装垃圾，但拿取的数量已超所需。
零废新加坡（Zero Waste Singapore）经理白海琳受访时说，活动目的不是要禁用塑料袋，而是从塑料袋取用量最大的超市着手，希望减少国人过量使用的习惯。
她表示：“一些国人习惯用完塑料制品随手就扔……我们通过收集反馈和观察发现，许多人在家有多余且不常使用的环保袋。与其制造更多环保袋，我们希望利用现有资源再循环，鼓励社区内的重复使用。”
“自备购物袋”的倡议引发现场公众讨论。居民黄惠莲（76岁，退休者）从八年前就习惯在外出购物前自备环保袋。她认为捐赠箱的设立，有利于促进资源合理再分配。“我家有很多多余的环保袋没地方收，正好能捐出。”
另一名受访退休人士杨大卫（67岁）则认为捐赠环保袋并不实际。“消费者能自备袋子就偷笑了，还要他们特地捐更多出来？我觉得它不会起作用。”
公众：对塑料袋收费能有效降低使用量
从吉隆坡来新探亲的廖定妹（72岁，退休者）分享，促使公众自备购物袋的最佳做法是超市对塑料袋收费。
“我之前完全没有自备袋子的习惯。自从吉隆坡的超市今年3月起对每个塑料袋收2角钱后，包括我在内的全城市民都很记得去到哪里都要带袋子。”
Forgotten reusable bags collecting dust around the home can now be put to good use and help save the earth.
From Wednesday (July 3), members of the public can drop their unused reusable bags into a donation bin at eight supermarket outlets – two each from FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Cold Storage and Prime Supermarket.
Local environmental group Zero Waste SG (ZWSG), which is behind the initiative, will then collect the bags and ensure they are in good condition before redistributing them to random shoppers at each of the selected outlets. This will happen every two to four weeks from now till October.
“Singapore has a ‘use and throw’ culture. We want to reduce the country’s excessive usage of plastic bags and cultivate a habit of using reusable bags when shopping,” said ZWSG manager Pek Hai Lin at the launch of the initiative, held at FairPrice Xtra Kallang Wave Mall on Wednesday.
Some 820 million plastic bags are taken from supermarkets here every year, a recent study by the Singapore Environment Council found.
Ms Pek said that most plastic bags do not get recycled, as it is not profitable for recycling plants. Instead they get incinerated, a process that increases carbon emissions and contributes to global warming.
When shoppers use a reusable bag for a year, it is estimated that they save 125 single-use plastic bags, according to study commissioned by the National Environment Agency.
“Though the initiative is a good step to encourage the use of reusable bags, this alone is not enough,” said retiree Narayanan S.R, who was shopping at Kallang Wave Mall’s FairPrice Xtra.
The reusable bag sharing stations are placed at the Sheng Siong and FairPrice supermarkets at Khatib Central.
The Indian national said that he uses cloth bags made from coir, the fibre from coconut outer husks, to dispose of his garbage as an alternative to using plastic bags.
“It is the mindset of the population that they are entitled to using plastic bags which needs to be changed,” said the 70-year old.
But fellow shopper Mr Yang, who declined to give his full name, thinks that the initiative will not be effective.
The 67-year-old retiree said: “Everyone already has a reusable bag somewhere at home, and will still need to use plastic bags eventually.
“I try to take at least 10 plastic bags when I go grocery shopping, because what else am I going to use to dispose of my garbage at home?”
The participating outlets are: FairPrice City Square Mall and Kallang Wave Mall, Sheng Siong at Clementi West Block 720 and Junction 10, Cold Storage Compass One and Fusionopolis Way, and the Prime Supermarkets in Joo Seng and Jurong West Street 75.
Source: Zaobao / The Straits Times
