Breakthroughs Today

THE article, “Reusable Bag Biz,” on Dec. 1 generated insightful feedback from our readers. The concern is indeed serious, but the recycling options available so far are costly to consumers. And yet many agree that plastic bags are cheaper options “if only”—and that’s the key phrase—responsibility in using or disposing them can be instilled in Filipino consumers. The thought of plastic cluttering rivulets and street “canals,” and causing floods during heavy rainfalls—particularly in Colon St.—brings to mind the image of black mud that host minute organisms called bacteria. I’m familiar with these tiny creatures when viewed under a microscope, even when these organisms are unstained. The image also reminds me of... [ Read more. ] This article appears in SunStar Cebu newspaper on 16 February 2011.

FRANKLY I have serious reservations with the idea of outlawing plastic bags in grocery stores. First reusable bags cost around P35 each. Second, paying P3 for a free plastic bag simply rubs the poor the wrong way, and adds more income to the retailers. In a poor country like ours, a cost of P105 for reusable bags can bring around three kilos of rice on a poor man’s table. Instead of keeping this money with poor, the idea adds more income to the rich retailers. Another thing... [ Read more. ] This apprears in Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on 01 December 2010.