Bags of opportunities

Bags of opportunities

Major corporate retailers are doing battle to reduce the number of plastic bags given to customers at their shopping outlets

A whale found in Songkhla last year and a baby dugong Mariam are among the victims. Two million tons of plastic debris is tossed away into the ocean each year, killing an uncountable number of marine creatures. Thailand ranks the world’s sixth-biggest generator of plastic waste into the sea but now the tragic deaths of marine life are alarming and waking us up to the need to protect and rehabilitate the environment - not only for animals, but for our own descendants.

To solve the ecological crisis, the Mineral Resources Department has joined hands with the country’s leading retailers to forge an agreement not to provide customers with plastic bags. The move is in response to estimates that up to 13.5 billion plastic items – about 30% of the total – is generated by shopping malls and 24-hour convenience stores alone.

Among the first responders is Central Group which initiated its “Central Love the Earth Say No to Plastic Bags” campaign 11 years ago. This year, Central Group is moving to become Thailand’s first plastic bag-free retailer which it expects will cut the number of plastic bags contributing to the problem by some 150 million pieces. 

“This campaign is taking a significant step in driving and raising awareness about the environment in Thai society,” said Nicolò Galante, president of Central Retail Corporation. “We hope it will drive a major change in the retail arena and prompt other industries to see the importance of tackling plastic waste and act accordingly.”

“It all has to start with ourselves and those around us before reaching out to our communities, society, and the country. When everyone has environmental responsibility, we will see nature restore its balance and our dream of living a good life will be within reach.”   

Central has now stopped giving shoppers plastic bags five days a month, having stopped giving them out one day a month last year.

The feedback is good. Tops Supermarket, under the umbrella of Central Retail, has seen numbers of customers refusing plastic bags rise from 1.1 to 2.2 million in the first half of this year. 

Central Food Hall, Tops Superstore, Tops Daily and Matsumoto Kiyoshi also join the campaign every Tuesday by offering eight points on The 1 Card to those saying ‘no’ to plastic bags or using their own bag.

FamilyMart is embarking on a similar path. It will no longer offer plastic bags on the 4th of each month. Three FamilyMart stores have stopped offering plastic bags completely: Mahidol University, the Department of Health, and Central Chaengwattana Level 21 branches. Within 2019, FamilyMart will increase the number of no plastic bag branches to 10 stores.

A study published in Environmental Science and Technology journal shows how plastic particles are found in food, water and air. More alarmingly, on average five grammes of microplastic enter each human body every week.

To raise awareness of health and environment issues, The Mall Group is billing itself as Thailand’s first green retailer. It has already stopped handing out plastic bags in all its department stores. At its chain stores, the group gives out around 100 million bags. Of these, 10% are biodegradable bags and 90% plastic. It also offers customers paper bags. Last year, it used four million fewer plastic bags and it expects to save at least six million units this year by adding more days where they are not provided as standard. 

“The Mall Think Green project will reduce the use of plastic bags by over 60%,” said Voralak Tulaphorn, chief marketing officer at The Mall Group. “Under The Mall Think Green project we’ve been using Oxo biodegradable bags at our Home Fresh Mart chains for 10 years already. We also only use shopping bags made of recycled paper at all our retail complexes.”

The Mall has also launched a “Gourmet Green” project using reusable food containers it collects and giving special discounts on salads and soups served in them. There’s also a Green Lane to give extra convenience to customers bringing their own shopping bags.    

From July, HomePro has opted to charge customers one baht for each plastic bag they receive and donates the proceeds to charity.       

Since 2010, Tesco Lotus has cut its plastic bag outlay by 190 million pieces, thanks to its Phoom Jai Mai Chai Tung (Proud Not Using A Bag) project. Since December 2018 it has transformed all used cartons into recycled paper bags for customers. 

All shelves in Fresh Market zones are lined with recyclable thermoformed trays that save 400 tonnes of plastic a year. Some 1,800 branches of Tesco Lotus Express and Market have already stopped providing plastic bags for customers making small purchases. 

Shoppers can get extra points on their Club Card by dropping their used plastic bottles and aluminum cans at the reverse vending machine corner. Or they can bring their own food containers to collect fresh food, salad, pastries, vegetables, fruits or beverages.

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