Green Wednesday

It's a Green Wednesday as far as the Philippines is concerned.  Starting September 29, 2010, the country's major retailers have designated Wednesday as the Reusable Bag Day that is covered by a Memorandum of Agreement between them and the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR).  Every Wednesday thereafter, the malls and supermarkets will not allow the customers to put what they have purchased in plastic bags for free.  They will be charged a fee for every bag used and  are encouraged instead to use reusable canvass bags to replace the plastic bags.  This move is to drive home the point that we really have to take recycling and minimizing garbage seriously.  

For customers to make a change in their behavior, incentives are being given if reusable bags are used.  For Shopwise customers of which I am one, the reward points are doubled if reusable bags are used and are ten times more when done on Wednesdays.  The bags are also displayed conspicuously near the check out counter so they won't miss them while waiting for their turn to pay.

From the data gathered by the DENR from its actual field work, it was noted that almost 50% of garbage is made up of plastic bags which ended up at the waterways.  Typhoon Ondoy is a painful reminder of the waterways that were clogged by so much plastic bags.  

Showing that we care for the environment doesn't exact so much from us.  It starts with simple things like practicing recycling, waste segregation and loving our children.