AsianScientist (May 22, 2012) – Cities in a number of Asian
countries, including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Nepal,
Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan, are currently on the
warpath against plastic shopping bags.
The cities have passed local laws that ban such bags, on the basis
that they clog sewers and drainage canals, cause street flooding, choke
animals, and are responsible for other forms of environmental damage.
China and Taiwan, for example, impose heavy fines on violators. Other
countries are appealing for a switch to the production and use of
biodegradable bags.
But this misses the point. People do not object to using
biodegradable bags, and consider them a welcome return to the
traditional practice of using shopping baskets and bags made from
locally available materials – such as jute, abaca, and cloth – that are
less harmful to the environment.
What needs to be remembered is that plastic bags were made for a
purpose, and that the main complaint is against the way that they are
used – not their existence.
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