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also Today Online 23 Jun 05 Let the plastic industry create a bag that is environment-friendly Letter to Today from Tan Ken Jin Today Online 22 Jun 05 Plastics meet 'green' objectives Letter to Today from Ronald Lim President of the Singapore Plastic Industry & Secretary General of the Asean Federation of Plastic Industries Fallacy to think banning or imposing taxes will alleviate problem of littering In response to readers' letters on the impact of plastics bags on the environment, the Singapore Plastic Industry Association (Spia) would like to clear up the public's misconceptions. The Spia represents the plastics companies in Singapore ranging from petrochemical multinationals and plastic bags processing companies, to other types of plastic converters and plastic-related businesses. Most of our member companies are ISO 14000 certified. They adhere strictly to the stringent "green" requirement and are very conscious in their efforts to protect the environment. Spia has been actively involved in discussions with the regional national plastics associations of the Asia Pacific, United States and Europe on plastics and the environment. The associations felt it is a fallacy to suggest that the habit of littering will stop and litter will go away if plastics bags are banned, or if swinging taxes are imposed on their usage. This is because such bags are just 1 per cent of the real litter problem. For the same reason, our problems of landfill cannot be attributed in any way to plastic bags which represent a statistically insignificant percentage of landfill. The imposition of taxes and bans would only encourage alternatives such as paper which could be worse for the environment. It has been found that in countries that have imposed taxes on plastics bags, such as Ireland, while it is true that the tax has reduced the free distribution of plastic bags at checkout counters by more than 90 per cent, some retailers are reporting massive increases of up to 300 per cent in garbage bag sales. We are also seeing a massive increase in the use of paper bags. But often, two or three are needed to give the strength of a single plastic bag. And because paper weighs roughly six times more than plastic, one lorry load of plastic would equate to 10 lorry-loads of paper bags. That means you are cutting down more trees, creating a bigger negative environmental impact. More importantly, paper bags cannot replace plastic bags which are lighter, stronger and more durable. Plastics meet the environmental objectives of "reduce, recycle and reuse". The plastics industry has one of the best environmental track records in the world — it has reduced raw materials use by 70 per cent over the last 20 years, which few industries have achieved. The plastic bag is a product of choice and convenience that uses minimal earth resources and which consumers use and re-use. As global producers of one of the most useful multi-purpose containers in modern society, our industry is proactive in helping the authorities tackle the irresponsible disposal of plastic bags and develop systems that maximise the potential to re-use and recycle bags at the end of their useful life. It is grossly unfair to penalise one industry, when the environmental issues of our country would be resolved only if everyone adhered closely to the strict littering laws. Ronald Lim President of the Singapore Plastic Industry & Secretary General of the Asean Federation of Plastic Industries Today Online 23 Jun 05 Let the plastic industry create a bag that is environment-friendly Letter to Today from Tan Ken Jin I thank Mr Ronald Lim of the Singapore Plastic Industry Association ("Plastics meet 'green' objectives", June 22) for his insight into the plastics problem. However, I have a few questions. The problem is, the plastic bag is not biodegradable. This is why, even though Mr Lim states that it only contributes to 1 per cent of the litter problem, its impact on the environment is much larger. It was claimed that when free distribution of bags was decreased by 90 per cent in some countries, garbage bag sales went up by 300 per cent. Is this in terms of revenue, volume or real numbers? The two figures should be compared on the same basis. Also, more information is needed as 90 per cent of, say, 10 million is still a lot more than 300 per cent of, say, 50,000. I don't deny that the plastic bag has been one of the most useful inventions ever. So was the spinning wheel back in its heyday. While Mr Lim rightly pointed out that the onus is still on Singaporeans to preserve and protect the environment in which we live, the way has been opened for the plastics industry to take this a step further, and see how we can create a product that would serve the needs of the public, as well as the environment. links Related articles on Singapore: plastic bags More articles on Singapore: general environmental issues |
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