Reusable bags the way to go, marts told
Monday, September 24, 2007
b>Increased use of plastic bags harmful to environment, says Supa Save manager
MAJOR supermarkets should start introducing the use of reusable bags to counter the increasing use of plastic bags, which are harmful to the environment.
With the availability of reusable bags that are environment friendly, the usage of plastic bags will eventually go down, said an optimistic Ku Hon Khiong, manager of Supa Save Mabohai.
He said that 80 per cent of Supa Save's expenditure on packaging materials are spent on plastic bags each month, but reusable bags costs more to produce.
"We spend about $3,000 to $4,000 on packaging materials and they are manufactured in Sri Lanka," he told The Brunei Times in a telephone interview yesterday.
Ku said that there has been an encouraging response to Supasave's reusable bags, but the supermarket has to subsidise 30 cents for each reusable bag because it is more expensive due to manufacturing and logistics costs.
There is still a demand for plastic bags because customers may use it to store rubbish, he said.
"Sometimes, a customer will demand a big plastic bag for one or two products only because they want to use it for other purposes," he said.
He added that other customers would also request for extra plastic bags saying that "one is too thin to handle the heavy products".
However, some customers who care about the environment would come back with their reusable bags most of the time, he said.
"At the moment, we are not considering reusable bags because of the cost," said Kong, supervisor of Sin Kew Hin Department Store.
He said that most Bruneians do not have a habit of using reusable bags and recycled paper bags.
About 300 to 500 plastic bags are used every month, but festive seasons would see more, he added.
The use of plastic bags is increasing every year, said a manager at one of the Hua Ho Department Store branches.
The manager, who did not want to be named, said about 500 plastic bags are ordered from China each month because it is cheaper. They have no plans to introduce reusable bags in the near future.
An estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide, with billions ending up as litter each year, according to reusablebags.com, an organisation that seeks to fight against the over-consumption of plastic bags.
Critics of the bags say it is not environment friendly as it uses up natural resources, consume energy to manufacture, create litter, choke marine life and add to waste. The Brunei Times
MAJOR supermarkets should start introducing the use of reusable bags to counter the increasing use of plastic bags, which are harmful to the environment.
With the availability of reusable bags that are environment friendly, the usage of plastic bags will eventually go down, said an optimistic Ku Hon Khiong, manager of Supa Save Mabohai.
He said that 80 per cent of Supa Save's expenditure on packaging materials are spent on plastic bags each month, but reusable bags costs more to produce.
"We spend about $3,000 to $4,000 on packaging materials and they are manufactured in Sri Lanka," he told The Brunei Times in a telephone interview yesterday.
Ku said that there has been an encouraging response to Supasave's reusable bags, but the supermarket has to subsidise 30 cents for each reusable bag because it is more expensive due to manufacturing and logistics costs.
There is still a demand for plastic bags because customers may use it to store rubbish, he said.
"Sometimes, a customer will demand a big plastic bag for one or two products only because they want to use it for other purposes," he said.
He added that other customers would also request for extra plastic bags saying that "one is too thin to handle the heavy products".
However, some customers who care about the environment would come back with their reusable bags most of the time, he said.
"At the moment, we are not considering reusable bags because of the cost," said Kong, supervisor of Sin Kew Hin Department Store.
He said that most Bruneians do not have a habit of using reusable bags and recycled paper bags.
About 300 to 500 plastic bags are used every month, but festive seasons would see more, he added.
The use of plastic bags is increasing every year, said a manager at one of the Hua Ho Department Store branches.
The manager, who did not want to be named, said about 500 plastic bags are ordered from China each month because it is cheaper. They have no plans to introduce reusable bags in the near future.
An estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide, with billions ending up as litter each year, according to reusablebags.com, an organisation that seeks to fight against the over-consumption of plastic bags.
Critics of the bags say it is not environment friendly as it uses up natural resources, consume energy to manufacture, create litter, choke marine life and add to waste. The Brunei Times
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