Silly Silly Bag
Plastic photo by Anmalhe
Working late so I go to KFC to get some nosh. Get two Zinger meals for myself and the boss. Looking absentmindedly at the local KFC Kottu and Biriyani when I notice the guy wrapping each of my drinks in a plastic bag and double-bagging my food. I groan inwardly, but it’s too late. The shit just stays in my car and if I take it home my mother insists on reusing it. I’m going to see this bags for the rest of my life. But whatever, I get my things and go to the car. What I notice is that the plastic is now extra thick, opaque and touchier than it used to be. And groan again. In a hackneyed effort to reduce plastic use the government has banned plastic below a certain thickness. Unfortunately, all this has done is led manufacturers to make thicker plastic. Volumes at stores don’t seem to have decreased, and the net result may actually be more plastic, and more money for plastic makers. It is like running economics backwards.Taxes are actually considered a good thing in economics cause they can shape behavior more than anything else. In the US, for example, many people like Thomas Friedman advocate a 50 cent gasoline tax in order to promote more green cars and car usage. A tax like that, implemented wisely, can spur market forces into a society-wide change while garnering money for the government. Simply banning plastic below a certain thickness doesn’t really seem to work, however, and the money goes to plastic manufacturers.
What GOSL should do is simply tax plastics at a higher rate. If they want to designate that to an environmental fund – perhaps to alleviate the countries dependence on open, untreated dumps – it would be cool, but even if it goes into the Rajapakse feudal trust at least the society would get some benefits. If you pinch the manufacturers and stores directly they will either cut down on use or give you more money. Either way you win. Under the current system nobody wins, and there aren’t even opportunities for more government tax fraud. I can understand acting against the national and environmental interest, but have you thought of all the Pajeros you could buy?
Oh wise one, your idea is brilliant! Now to somehow elect you to parliament :D But seriously now, since there is some case against env auth. I hope what you say comes true out of a pure commitment to clean up this city, or country rather..
Banning stuff below a certain thickness has made things worse! Now the pile of bags you have at the end of the day is heavier than it used to be.
I totally agree with your idea. There should be a serious mechanism to discourage the use of “sili siliy” bags. In addition to implementing taxes, I think a suitable alternative MUST be available at the market. At the moment we have nothing but the same old silly silly bag! If there is a viable alternative (like good quality paper bags) food places like KFC can easily switch to that option.
just today i was thinking about these bags…sadly…i was in the sea and today the wind was ssw direction (that means all the shit from the town gets blown towards unwatuna/matara side), i counted about 80 bags in the water, in less than a square kilometer and in about 1 hrs of schlogging on the w/surf in galle bay…god knows the water in cmb…thick or thin, it never dissolves.
it’s unbelievable how many use these bags constantly in sl. i sistematically refuse them, unless i have a big shopping load and i recycle them. the ones i cant recycle, well…i burn…thus spreding dioxine in the air you’ll say, but even if i give them to galle m.c. they do the same or bury them or god knows what….so no escape from the sili sili. mind you i dont burn many and i hate to do so but there is no choice…
Actually that idea was already floated, tax the raw material used for the plastics that are imported. The revenue was to be used for an islandwide public education program for tidiness. From what I recall the industry approved, cabinet approved but the treasury bailed, b/c they didnt want tax revenue being diverted for ‘special projects’ or for some similar retarded reason. Shame because there would have been a fuckload of money available annually for the education program the beneficial effects of which would have not been limited to plastic bags…this was under the UNP btw.
The blanket bans retarded, its not like enforcing its going to be easy and cheap, its a target for bribing inspectors and it puts the lunchpacket fellas out of business….but then its simple…just like the politicians (and some misguided environmentalists) who dreamt it up…
forgot to add…the tax idea is especially good because its really not the use of plastic thats a problem, SL per person uses much, much less than say the States, UK, etc…its disposal and the disposal issue is obviously not limited to plastic bags, out buggers don’t seem to understand the concept of a trashcan
SILLY SILLY BAG
The LTTE environment agency banned plastic bag usage by shops in Tamil Eelam altogether in 1994. You should consider doing the same in Sri Lanka as it is affecting the whole island.
Yes, and you can also carry plastic explosives in buses. Lovely place.
huh, non sequitor…?
If you have a car…why don’t you keep a box or some bags in your car-boot which you can take in with you when you go to the supermarket etc and reuse? Or else…what about buying some of those biodegradable Sri Lankan mallas that are made of palm leaves etc? Or even Barbara Sansoni’s bags (not a plug!)? You probably should think of the carbon trading scheme as well…since you are pumping CO2 into the atmosphere driving around in the car as a single passenger.
Matt Tabibi takes on your hero Thomas Friedman.Spot on I would says.
http://www.nypress.com/article-19271-flat-n-all-that.html