No more plastic bags in 5 barangays on Wednesdays

Five barangays in 2 Metro Manila cities have committed to cut garbage by declaring all Wednesdays as "Plastic Bag-Free Day."

In celebration of Earth Day on Sunday, officials of Barangay Hulong Duhat, Flores, Bayan-Bayanan and Dampalit of Malabon City and Barangay Tanza of Navotas City signed a "Pledge of Commitment" which discourages the use of plastic bags in their areas every Wednesday.

They also gave away native baskets to promote the use of environment-friendly shopping bags.

"By encouraging our constituents to shift away from using plastic bags to using bayong and other reusable bags and containers, we can reduce the volume of our waste and help prevent plastic pollution in the CaMaNa area," Caloocan City Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. said in a statement. CaMaNa refers to the area covered by the cities of Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas.

"I invite other barangays in the country to implement their own plastic-bag-free days. This is our share for the healing of our ailing planet," he added.

Retail companies across the country earlier pledged to charge customers whenever they use plastic bags while grocery shopping every Wednesday.

Muntinlupa, another city in Metro Manila, has already prohibited the use of plastic bags and styrofoam in all of its commercial establishments.

Just recently, Senator Loren Legarda proposed a total ban on the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags throughout the country to move away from wasteful habits and prevent environmental problems.

All these have caused plastic bag makers to express concern about a possible dip in sales this year.

Posted in: Plastics