Company to purchase bags from locals, supports plastic ban
RH Hypermarket will be purchasing bags from local suppliers in supporting the Government’s initiative on the ban of single-use plastic shopping bags, assistant general manager Phil Ager says.
“We are, of course, in full support of the Government imposing such a ban to lessen the plastic pollution in PNG,” he said.
“The bags we have and will purchase will only be from local suppliers and it will be the responsibility of the local suppliers that the bags are 50 microns to support the Government requirements.”
Ager said RH had a good relationship with the conservation and environment protection authority (Cepa) and would support this with reduced cost of its RH eco cloth bags. Having cardboard boxes on occasions goes a long way in reducing the footprint of unnecessary plastics, he said.
“We will only have medium and extra-large bags for multiple purchases, therefore, removing bags that traditionally have one or two items.
“We will have posters in our stores highlighting the need for change and in the hope that our customers fully support this move.”
Brian Bell Group also supports the government in imposing the ban to eliminate plastic bags, according to chief executive officer Cameron Mackellar.
“We actually didn’t need consultation because we know it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
Mackellar said they had effected a complete change from single-use bags throughout their trading businesses about nine months ago to the introduction of paper bags.
“Implementing paper bags is not the only answer though, encouraging our customers to use bilum or other reusable products is also part of the initiative to drive improved behaviour and change.
“Raising awareness on the impacts of plastic on our environment is also part and parcel of changing consumer sentiment on this important topic. It’s something we can all do as consumers.”
Environment, Conservation and Climate Change Minister Wera Mori said the total ban on the use of single-use plastic shopping bags would come into effect on March 16.
One thought on “Company to purchase bags from locals, supports plastic ban”
The problem is that if you walk out of a shop in PNG with items that are not in a plastic bag the security guards hold you and check you because they suspect you of stealing. It’s going to cause all sorts of clashes between customers and security.
Re-usable bags that customers have to pay for is not the answer because (a) people won’t pay and (b) who wants to carry empty shopping bags around all day in case of grabbing some things at the shops on the way home from work? So many purchases are unplanned and people won’t bring their empty shopping bags with them.
So-called single use supermarket plastic bags are are not usually “single use” anyway. Most PNG households re-use their supermarket plastics as garbage bags and carry-bags for all sort of purposes. A roll of proper black garbage bags costs over K10 which people can’t afford and that’s why people re-use supermarket plastics as bin liners and rubbish bags. Once free supermarket plastics are banned many households will have nothing to put their rubbish in and they will start throwing unwrapped rubbish into their bins and rubbish collection stands outside their homes which will lead to worse public hygiene risks and worse unsightly mess and smell in the streets.
The focus should be on switching to biodegradable “single use” plastics because (1) most of them will get re-used as garbage bags and end up at the rubbish dump not blowing around on the city streets, and (2) they will quickly get decomposed by exposure to sunlight and air because they area made from very thin plastic that is easily oxidised and broken down. Yes they are also unsightly if thrown on the street but not for long.
The problem with plastic bags blowing around on the streets and in the waterways will only be solved when we stop selfish and careless people from littering. To do this we need public awareness and social marketing campaigns, educational programs in schools to train the new generations not to litter, and CCTV cameras and city rangers detecting litterers and enforcing litter laws.
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