The Problem with Plastic Bags - Stop thinking you can recycle

Remember the date : 19th April 2009 Sunday, 9.00 am, Komplek Penyayang, George Town, Penang

Above is my talking points for the dialogue "To Ban or Not to Ban Plastic Bags".

The plastic manufacturers' association says that plastic bags have been made the punching bag, the scapegoat. I kinda of agree. Their solution is to step up recycling. I absolutely disagree. Stop thinking that you can recycle. The first rule is REFUSE. Forget 3R. The key is to stop waste in its tracks. Go for 4R. First Refuse (do you really need that plastic bag? do you need to print those notes?).

If you can't do without the plastic bag or the printed notes, then REDUCE. That's the second rule. Take only one plastic bag for the whole shopping trip (but always remember to bring reusable bags). Print on both sides of the paper.

The 3rd rule is REUSE or Repair. Yes, I know, reuse the plastic bags as trash liners. I do that still. But that still ends up in the landfill and they stay there forever (perhaps a 1,000 years but who knows? Plastic bags have been around only since the 1980s). I must start more composting of the organic cooked food waste which I am not doing at the moment (am only composting the fruit peels and uncooked vegetables and yard waste). That has been bugging me. Once I can compost the food waste, I will have almost zero waste (when I factor in the recycling - yah, you got me there).

The last resort is recycling, when everything else fails. The idea is to keep the stuff working for as long as possible - because recycling really uses a lot of resources too.

So, what do you think? Message loud and clear? Yeah, I know, the concept map is probably too complex for some. Not to worry, I will still have slides with lots of pictures. I will try to touch the various multiple intelligences.

See you there. A group of USM students will be there to lobby the crowd. Want to make a difference?