Do we want to ban plastics? (Part 3)

So what really do we want to ban with plastics? Last Sunday, we introduced the question on the need of national versus local action.  Other countries who dealt with this issue ahead of us concluded that for the ban to be effective, national legislation is needed at least, in terms of not allowing the manufacture of the specific plastic materials. Otherwise, we have a weird situation where an item is "authorized" to be manufactured by the national government but the use thereof is prohibited by some local governments.

The issue on plastics is similar to traffic congestion-the problems are all local but the long-term solutions require national policy. In previous articles, we discussed about car ownership and car use regulations. While the latter might be instituted locally, the former needs national laws to execute. Good if you are a city-state like Singapore where there's no national and local nature to speak of. In the case of plastics, if we really are intent to "ban" something in the long term, then we prohibit their production. At the top, through national policy.

Local actions, though faster and easier to implement, and which results can be felt immediately may sometimes introduce weird situations. In Part 1 of this write-up, we asked what specifically should be banned, mere possession? Use, sale, or disposal? Surely, we won't start apprehending people simply because they're carrying plastic bags or using them.  As it is being implemented in other cities, the ban usually takes into the form of preventing malls, supermarkets, grocery stores, and the like from using plastic bags for their business.  Which as it stands is also weird because they don't sell those in the first place but give them for free to make it convenient for their customers to carry their purchased items. The convenience will hopefully make customers return and buy more!

How do we enforce? Easy with the big malls, but how about the thousands of sari-sari stores?  Do we employ enforcers to check each and every one?  Even if we do it at random, it still a formidable task!  Do we do a "plastic tokhang" to ensure each store won't violate the ban?  Going back to the customers, even if you're an environmental advocate, you can't deny the facility and convenience that plastic bags offer for shoppers. Try buying family-size bottled soda and carry them on a paper bag. Or meat and fish and vegetables, without the pre-cut/shaped "handles" of plastic bags and without their "wet-proof" characteristic.

What will happen then? One, there's no assurance that people would simply carry plastic bags with them when doing grocery chores. These cost practically nothing anyway.  Two, if the "sale" of plastic bags are banned in one local government unit and not in another, people will simply go to the next town or city to do their shopping. This is especially true in metropolitan areas. That's why a holistic wider approach is more advisable. Makes for more uniform practices, too.

But consider this-one important cue we get from more advance countries is the "thickness" of the plastic bag. Apparently, certain thicknesses of plastics make them grossly and significantly destructive to the environment, most especially in clogging drainage pipes and canals. Very thin plastic sheets actually act as a binder when included in the solid waste disposal stream. In fact, in many countries, there are national laws regulating the thickness of plastic "carry" bags. Just search "plastic bag thickness regulations" on the internet.  But then again, we find out that this will require national legislation rather than local ones.  It's much easier to prohibit the manufacture of plastic sheets less than 35-40 microns thick than measuring them at supermarkets. But it seems we're not talking about this at the moment.

Yes, I believe we need to regulate "certain" plastics. But we need to study all aspects of this more thoroughly and scientifically, for us to ensure effectivity and success. Thence, we may be able to achieve a more environmentally sustainable future for our children.