WE'VE had constant petitions and repetitions of warning against the use of plastics, whether as wrappers, carrier of goods: wet and dry, to the point that today, department stores, drug stores and even grocery stores and market stalls emphasize bringing one's own bag, or be content with the limited sized paper bags each of these provide. We are told to use paper bags instead! Paper? Are we sure of this? The moment the whole world gets into this practice, I wonder how many trees will be left behind on Planet Earth.
Did the people sponsoring this idea not consider the disadvantage and the danger of using paper instead of plastics? It's just like saying, "...stop using plastic, they're toxic to our oceans and seas and marine life. Use paper instead and you are permitted to kill all the trees around in place of using plastic."
Trees are the source of paper, their bark, their saw dust, and their leaves together with recycled cartons, old newspapers, old books, cotton ( which comes from trees too) etc. are treated to make new paper to be used in different ways. Can we afford using paper all the time? And, is paper durable enough to hold heavy goods, worse...wet goods like fish and fresh meats, dressed chicken and so on? How many times does a customer go back to the grocery store to change the paper bag given after it got ripped and softly torn by the wet goods?
Worse, are we prepared and ready to fell more trees to fill our needs for paper bags and containers? Sounds so impractical, so lacking in deeper study and critical analysis. We ban the use of plastics, but this creates the need to cut more trees to make paper. Which is more harmful to the environment? Cutting trees or using plastic?
Why don't we be stricter in managing the use of plastic instead? Other countries have adopted a new way of using recycled plastics by making plastic bricks that are used to build homes for the homeless. We should, instead, ban the throwing of plastic materials. They should be gathered in a center that can make use of them to create other materials that humanity can use.
Banning plastics will not solve the garbage problem. Paper waste can accumulate then dumped since burning is not allowed too. Sooner or later, our garbage dumps will be full of papers that need to be burned or recycled. But again, it's teaching people how to manage waste. The government should teach people how to handle waste materials especially plastic waste. What's happening to think tanks? There are so many ways of recycling plastic to preserve the environment.
For whatever comes up into this planet, we, the inhabitants should have knowledge of how to recycle and make these waste products of plastic and other items useful and safe for humanity again.
Give incentives to the public not to throw plastics into the ocean or other water ways. Consider buying disposed plastics from the public and lead its recycling for the good of all!
Paper bags? Please, let's save the trees!
I love you Baguio!
