Take your shopping bags to save the environment
BULA vinaka shoppers, This week I will explore the issue of plastic bags to find out if shoppers are still enthusiastic about taking their own after plastics were banned by the government in 2020.
When this law was first introduced everyone took their own shopping bags because they did not want to pay 30 cents to $2 more for bags and they also wanted to save the planet.
Today it seems that every shopper has to pay for their own shopping bags if they shop in a supermarkets, retail store or neighbourhood shop and second hand shops. Plastics have only been in circulation since 1907, and experts estimate that some can last hundreds of years before they finally break down.
Plastics keep piling up in the strangest of ways, like the Great Pacific garbage patch floating around in the middle of the ocean which adds to pollution.
Anaseini who shops every fortnight unless she runs out of baby products and food for her two boys said she takes her shopping bags to save money. “When I leave home to go to the supermarket — I take my shopping bags with me, otherwise if I’m knocking off work and randomly heading to the stores, I buy new ones.
“We usually have lots of shopping bags at home as mum likes to save them from every trip we make to the supermarkets,” she shared.
Anaseini said she was aware of the environment and that was why she supported the idea for shoppers to carry their own bags.
“I think reducing the use of plastic bags is one way to keep Mother Earth clean.
“Something that we should all emphasise in our homes is the use of the three R’s (Reuse, Reduce and Recycle), to minimise waste,” she added.
Another shopper Raveena a mother of two adult children said she shops fortnightly and takes her shopping bags to save and protect our environment.
She is conscious of the fact that plastic bags pollute the environment and takes years to break down and rot.
She looks after Mother Earth by making sure receipts or garbage are placed in the bins, and by shopping wisely and in bulk. Raveena feels being a conscious shopper allows her to focus on saving for other things.
Since January 1, 2020 the manufacture sale supply and distribution of plastic bags have been banned in Fiji and shoppers started taking their own bags.
Some sewed colourful cloth bags or bought the ones they liked from the market vendors or supermarkets. Others would pack their stuff in used boxes or sacks they could get hold of at the counters.
The legislation – the Environment Management (Budget Amendment) Act 2019 — defines plastic bags as a carry bag made entirely or in part with polyethylene, referred to as PET.
This was a crucial step in protecting Fiji’s waterways, oceans, rivers, and wildlife from plastic pollution.
This ban does not apply to prepackaged off the shelf items or plastic bags for carrying bread, garbage bags and bin liners; as well as bags above 50 microns in thickness.
These legislative changes were part of measures created to reduce the impact of plastic pollution, to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfills and to strengthen Fiji’s recycling options.
The government said plastic pollution has been a significant contributor to Fiji’s environmental problems. So the actions to ban plastics would result in a cleaner Fiji with a brighter environmental future.
They left no stone unturned in raising awareness through the municipal markets, retailers association and Consumer Council. Everyone was conscious of the move and adapted to change.
It seems that two years on many shoppers have become complacent and some businesses force shoppers to pay for their own bags for every goods they buy. Be conscious about saving the environment. Shoppers, please remind yourselves to shop wisely and to take your shopping bags to save Mother Earth from all kinds of pollution.