Monday, November 26, 2007

Villar to malls: Stop using plastic bags

By: Bernadette E. Tamayo - Journal Online

ALARMED by the increasing volume of solid waste in the metropolis, Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. asked mall owners to reduce the daily garbage produced by their customers.

He urged owners of department stores, malls and commercial establishments to use “reusable” environment-friendly shopping bags instead of plastic bags.

“I understand there are grocery stores now that are providing their customers with earth-friendly reusable bags but for a fee. This practice will be more effective if they will give out these bags at no cost to customers,” Villar said.

He earlier filed Senate Bill 1802 which mandates all department stores, malls and commercial establishments to provide reusable ecologically-friendly bags.

“This approach will combine citizen discipline and responsible corporate management and hopefully will make a significant dent in the garbage problem,” he said.

Villar said the use of plastics should be reduced because these are non-biodegradable.

Once enacted into law, the measure will cover commercial establishments with three or more stores, sales offices or branches nationwide or those with capitalization of more than P5 million.

“Solving the country’s garbage problem has a lot to do with lifestyle. Every individual must participate and must be responsible in solving the perennial garbage problem,” Villar said.

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