A New Way of Living

Since everyone has been talking about zero carbon and green way of living for some time now, I’ve decided to challenge myself to be greener. One of my plans, is to use up all the plastic bags that are in my kitchen. It was then, I realised there were many more plastic bags lying around the house (and they are not just kept in the kitchen.) That was my first revelation.

To utilise these plastic bags, I would pack them up and bring them with me, to be used whenever I do my grocery shopping. I do keep some used plastic bags in my car but out of habit, I would forget to bring them along into the shop and I end up taking new plastic bags. And I’m back to square one.?

I guess I needed some motivation and challenge to make this happen. And that happened when I went back to my mother’s house one rainy evening. At the back of her house there’s a small river. As it continued to pour, I would see so many plastic bags of all kinds, floating, and that made me wonder, where does it all come from and more importantly where does all these plastic end up at? A little googling showed me that most of it will end up in the sea. That was my second revelation. This piece of information was my wakeup call and had motivated me to do my part.??

To cut my story short, I’m happy to report, that 2 months later; I had re-used all the plastic bags in my kitchen, including the ones lying around in my house. I’m now a happy man! I’ve contributed to saving the earth and at the same time keeping my house free from plastic bags.?

How did I accomplish my mission? Well, besides reusing them during shopping – be it groceries or other shopping, I also use them as bin bags. This meant, I didn’t need to spend any additional money in buying the black/blue plastic bags, and at the same time, I cleared out what plastic bags, I had. I think that is a good plan to save money ??.?

Can you imagine, what would happen, if I was to keep bringing back new plastic bags home every week, without utilising the ones I have at home? Especially when I have no plans or ideas on how to reuse them? I think I would be collecting a mountain of plastic bags and nowhere to store them. Some would ask me, “Why not just use a recycling bag?’’ That’s one way, but I think all of us have more than 10 recycle bags at home, right? It is either because we forget to bring the bags with us or a member of our family had taken it and not returned them, when we need them, and so we end up getting more. Which puts me back to square one – a mountain of unused plastic bags that would end up in the dumpster or the sea. Honestly, every time someone gives me a new plastic bag, I feel guilty for taking it as I know in the end, it will be dumped somewhere on our Mother Earth.

I don’t think I’m the only one feeling guilty and doing something about it. I now see some people are now practising reusing their old plastic bags at the supermarkets. The only challenge I am now facing, is that even when I say, “No plastic bag” to the cashier, and instead of saying thank you for helping the earth, the cashier would say, “Its ok, the plastic is free.” That was my 3rd revelation. It is a two-way street. Consumers can’t do this alone. This I feel must change. And I guess it would have to start with me. Maybe I should remind the cashiers that plastic bags may be free, but it is hurting Mother Earth. We must act now to save her.?

Are you willing to collect plastic??

Am Bahari - Administration Analyst/Logistic, Warehousing & Inventory Department