Zero plastic bag usage is an impossible mission, but half the usage is possible.

Zero plastic bag usage is an impossible mission, but half the usage is possible.

In the supermarkets, fruits and vegetables are prepacked with plastic bags.

In the wet markets, fruits and vegetables are openly displayed - Zero Plastic bags are used


Finally, my article is published in ST Forum (Bottom Right Hand - Learn from wet markets in cutting plastic use)

ST Forum 
Email to me 
Dear Mr Foo

Thank you for your letter. We have published it in today's Forum Page.  You can also read your letter on the Straits Times website at https://www.straitstimes.com/forum

We look forward to receiving more of your contributions.


Best wishes,


ST Edited Version
Learn from wet markets in cutting plastic use

When I visited the wet market recently, I found that fruits and vegetables were displayed openly without being prepacked in plastic bags.

In supermarkets, fruits and vegetables are all prepacked.

Customers are encouraged to use our own bags for grocery purchases.

But the purpose of doing so is defeated when plastic bags are used in prepacking.

Our supermarkets could go back to basics and adopt wet market concepts to reduce the use of plastic.

Sales personnel could assist customers with the produce.

We need to study the complete supply chain process, starting from the farm to the warehouse to the supermarket, and innovate.

Zero plastic bag use is an impossible mission, but cutting the usage significantly is possible.

It must start with the corporation, not the end users.

Foo Siang Yian
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 03, 2018, with the headline 'Learn from wet markets in cutting plastic use'. Print Edition | Subscribe



FSY Original Article
Title:

Zero plastic bag usage is an impossible mission, but half the usage is possible.

  

Plastic bags are everywhere in our supermarkets but not in our wet markets.

I did a small “Research” this morning by going to the wet market and supermarket (refer to my pictures, Tuesday, July 31, 2018)

The wet market has an open concept where fruits & vegetables are displayed openly without being prepacked with plastic bags. Unfortunately, the supermarkets are doing it differently. Almost every fruits and vegetables are prepacked with plastic bags.

We are encouraged to bring our own bag for our grocery purchases but doesn't it seems contradicting by prepacking produces with plastics bags?

We cannot eliminate usages of plastic entirely because it has been in our DNA.  However, if we can half the usages by going back to the basic in adopting the wet market concepts in our supermarket then it might works!

Lately, many renovations are done to our supermarket by transforming checkout counters to self-checkout points. This directly cut operating costs for them and indirectly transfer the “process cost” to the customers.

To be a smart nation moving to a cashless society is great but not smart enough to save the environment is a worthless effort to the society at large.

Why not spend some resources into applying the wet market concept in a modern supermarket that prepacking with more plastic bags are eliminated?

Another Skill Future initiative by upgrading redundant cashiers to new jobs to be sales personnel assisting customers with the produce.

To really half the usage of plastic bags, we need to study and innovate the complete supply chain process from the farm to the warehouse before reaching the supermarket.

Zero plastic bag usage is an impossible mission but by taking the first step to half the usage is possible. It must starts within the corporation, not the end users.

Another cost savings for the Supermarket is to stop printing the big corporate logo on the plastic bag. It is wastage of ink on the plastic bag where hardly anyone bother to read it. Saving ink is also directly saving the environment!

Foo Siang Yian 

With gratitude

Thank you / Terima Kasih / 谢谢 / நன்றி 

Daniel Foo

符昌轩