The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) is encouraging various groups to use eco-bags (reusable clothe bags) to tackle the overuse of plastic bags as we are deeply concerned with the terrible ill effects of plastic bags. Currently, CAP is working on ‘No plastic bags project’ (a temporary project name) with a group of pharmacists from the northern states.

At the same time, we are encouraging major supermarkets nationwide to embark on their own eco-bag campaigns as most plastic bags are handed out at those supermarkets. The responses from the supermarkets including Tesco, Gama, and Parkson remain to be seen. CAP is waiting for positive replies from them hoping that they care not only about profits but also our community and our environment.

In November 2007, CAP fully lauded the move by the then Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government, Azizah Mohd Dun for launching a campaign in Selangor to cut down on the use of plastic bags. The move was in the right direction as it clear that the mindless use of plastic bags for shopping and other purposes has become a major ecological and health problem in our society.

In actual fact, CAP has long called for the elimination of the use of such non-biodegradable bags for such purposes. As part of its campaign of ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’, CAP has advocated the use of more sustainable shopping and other bags for daily use.

What is wrong with plastic bags?

Mounting thrown away plastic bags ruin our beautiful environment, and harm our health. Recently, it was reported by BBC that the toxic elements of plastic bags causes ‘enormous amount of neurological problems in the blood and so on’ besides the huge amount of ugly- looking waste created by them.

Now it is commonly acknowledged that chemical elements used in plastic bag production are highly deleterious to human health. They can cause fatal cancers, reproductive failure and dysfunction, and damage of central nervous system. When it is burned, the negative impacts are much more intensified.

Plastic bags clog drains and waterways, posing a threat to cities of our country. For instance, plastic bags stocked in drains turned out to be one of the major factors, which made the severe flooding in Bangladesh in 1988 and 1998 even worse. This late realisation led to a ban on plastic bags in Bangladesh in 2002. Since Malaysia experiences heavy rainfall over the short period time every year, the ramification this case casts upon us cannot be overestimated.

Victims are not only humans. About 100,000 of marine animals like whales, seals, turtles are killed by plastic bags every year. They are killed because of either suffocation by plastic bags or indigestion after swallowing them thinking those bags as jellyfishes. Also, plastic bags do not spare animals on land like mammals, bird, and reptiles.

The biggest problem is that, usually, plastic takes a very long time to be biodegrade stretching from 20 years at the minimum to 1,000 years at the maximum. They do not disappear easily as we might wish. Given this, it is very clear what will happen if we do not stop using plastic bags, and continue to disposing massive amounts of wastes.

Apart from its harm on our health and environment, considering that the cost of producing plastic bags is expected to go up along with the rising price of oil and natural gas, there is no point in using them. Furthermore, a huge amount of crude oil and natural gas which are non-renewable resources are needed in order to produce them. When we have a better alternative choice of using reusable shopping bags, why should we continue to use plastic bags?

For those reasons, many countries including Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Italy, Taiwan, and China are now banning the use of plastic bags. In case of Ireland, it achieved a 94% of reduction in use of plastic bags within just six months. This indicates that actually, the use of plastic bags can be reduced dramatically with the proper policies.

Indeed, it is unfortunate that Malaysia is still not conscious enough about the plastic bag issue to come up with that proper measures and policies. However, even more unfortunate is that the public is not enlightened and motivated to put enough pressure on the government to implement a ban on the use of plastic bags.

CAP urges the government to seriously look into the banning of the use of plastic bags for a cleaner and healthier nation and that it will not cave in to pressure from the plastic lobby.

The writer is president, Consumers Association of Penang.