Deadly bags
COULD anyone react positively to an emerging food and energy crisis when one is already saddled with high cost of living and getting by with a monthly salary that can barely support the basic needs of the family? It may be a case of seeing a glass of water as either half full or half empty, but I think only a bleak economic situation can force people to become aware of environmental issues and seriously consider the benefits of simple living. This is not to trivialize the current scenario but environmentalists like my friend and fellow CDN columnist Gloria “Golly” Ramos must be delighted by recent events.
For example, after decades of intractability, Congress finally obliged to regulate the use of plastic material with a proposal to impose excise taxes for every plastic bag used in food and nonfood business establishments. Authored by Albay Representative Al Francis Bichara, the bill seeks to impose a tax of P2.50 for every plastic bag used. Under the proposed legislation, revenues generated by the particular excise tax will be automatically allocated to the annual budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in order “to fund efforts to protect the environment.”
In pushing for House Bill 4134 Representative Bichara took the opportunity to discuss the disadvantages of the non-biodegradable material and the similar approaches taken by governments in Australia, China, Ireland, Bangladesh, Paris, Italy, Taiwan and Tanzania. These countries have taken action either to discourage the use of plastic bags or have it banned altogether.
Congressman Bichara’s proposal is a bold move, noting that many personalities in the House represent business interests. As a matter of fact, I recall that the relevance of some is in the manufacture of plastics. Assuming the bill gets the necessary legislative attention it urgently deserves, we can expect that these sectors will try their best to lessen the impact of the proposed measure. However, concerns about global warming and the ever-increasing prices of fuel in the world market will weaken the resolve of plastic manufacturers to block the passage of this proposal.
The Internet teems with information on the harmful effects of plastic but of all the arguments against the use of this everyday bag and container, nothing strikes at the gut than imposing taxes on this material, which is made of petrochemicals, a costly and non-renewable resource. The economic crunch will hopefully make people think twice about shelling out P2.50 or P5 or even P10 more to buy the deadly container.
Still, people should also realize that the long-term effect of the use of plastic bags is also related to man’s survival. An article from the Web says that nearly 80 percent of litter in the ocean comes from land-based sources, a good quantity of them consisting of plastics are washed off to the oceans via urban runoff, through storm drains, meaning the main source of plastic bags in the ocean comes from urban waste. Plastic litter in oceans is not just an eyesore but also exposes aquatic life to “imminent danger through entanglement, suffocation and ingestion.” Did you know that when Dutch researchers dissected one aquatic animal, it contained more than 1,600 pieces of plastic? According to Wikipedia: “All sea creatures are threatened by floating plastic, from whales down to zooplankton.”
But then again, nothing is really certain in the workings of Congress. That is why even if the proposal is very urgent, I think the crafting of this legislation should not only be limited within the four walls of Congress but taken to every corner of the country so the people will be fully educated enough to push for a relevant law. Non-government organizations like the group that emerged to protect the Tañon Strait, headed by Golly, should actively monitor the crafting of this bill. Since the sale of plastic bags would be accounted for to ensure tax collection, I suggest the revenues be set aside solely for the purpose of supporting local government efforts and NGOs’ initiatives toward recycling plastic materials and proper or responsible solid waste management. On the whole, the message of the day should be maintaining a natural balance in the ecosystem.
In Paris, a ban on plastic bags took effect last year. A nationwide ban is scheduled to take effect in Jan. 1, 2010. In Île de France, where I’m currently based, people here use a “caddie” to buy groceries. Rather than pay three cents or four cents (approximately P2) for a single plastic bag, shoppers bring with them “caddies” when buying groceries. The caddie is similar to the trolley used by golfers to pack their sport equipment. It is convenient because one merely pushes the weight rather than carry the contents, as one would if he were to use a plastic bag.
Malou Guanzon-Apalisok, Cebu Daily News
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