[klat]

Commentary: Plastic bags at shops and supermarkets should be charged per bag rather than per customer

A per-transaction fee for plastic bags can trigger consumers to take as many plastic bags to get the biggest bang for their buck



SINGAPORE: On Jan 1, a plastic bag charge kicked in at all of NTUC FairPrice’s convenience stores.

The grocery retailer was the first supermarket chain in Singapore to implement a plastic bag charge. The charge is S$0.20 per transaction at supermarkets and S$0.10 per transaction at convenience stores.



SHOULD THE CHARGE BE PER TRANSACTION OR PER BAG?

A recent survey by the Singapore Environment Council shows that every day around 2 million plastic bags are taken from supermarkets, which accounts for about two to four plastic bags per shopper per visit.

The per transaction charge on plastic bags at NTUC FairPrice is a great step forward in that regard. However, this charge scheme has also raised concerns among environmentalists that it may create a potential buffet syndrome.

Consumers might fork out the 20 cents but take a lot of bags at once to get the biggest bang for their buck.

[debono]

Commentary: Plastic bags at shops and supermarkets should be charged per bag rather than per customer

A per-transaction fee for plastic bags can trigger consumers to take as many plastic bags to get the biggest bang for their buck



SINGAPORE: On Jan 1, a plastic bag charge kicked in at all of NTUC FairPrice’s convenience stores.

The grocery retailer was the first supermarket chain in Singapore to implement a plastic bag charge. The charge is S$0.20 per transaction at supermarkets and S$0.10 per transaction at convenience stores.



SHOULD THE CHARGE BE PER TRANSACTION OR PER BAG?

A recent survey by the Singapore Environment Council shows that every day around 2 million plastic bags are taken from supermarkets, which accounts for about two to four plastic bags per shopper per visit.

The per transaction charge on plastic bags at NTUC FairPrice is a great step forward in that regard. However, this charge scheme has also raised concerns among environmentalists that it may create a potential buffet syndrome.

Consumers might fork out the 20 cents but take a lot of bags at once to get the biggest bang for their buck.

We need plastic bags to throw our wet rubbish into the rubbish bin, else how to dispose of these wet rubbish........