Gleaner Editors' Forum | Back to good-ole paper bags - Alternatives in place as ban on single-use plastic takes effect next week

Decades ago, shoppers used to get their goods packaged mainly in large paper bags until they were phased out for plastic bags.

Now, paper bags are to make a comeback on a large scale to the island as the Government's ban on certain single-use plastic products and Styrofoam containers takes effect next week.

In fact, several paper and cloth bag manufacturers have created environmentally friendly products that will replace plastic, which has been wreaking havoc on the environment.

Branded bags

At a Gleaner Editors' Forum last week, representatives of the National Environmental Planning Agency (NEPA) came armed with examples of bags that will be prohibited and those that will be accepted once the January 1 ban is implemented.

"Many companies have been using non-plastic bags. Branded cloth bags have been popular, and places like pharmacies use paper bags for medication. So for some companies, it will not be so much of a problem," Ollyvia Anderson, public relations officer at NEPA, explained.

Sixty-year-old Gloria Ellis said that she still recalls the "nice Grace shopping bags" that were available when she was growing up. For 10 cents, shoppers could get that bag as well as unbranded large, brown paper bags.

She could not recall when she stopped seeing them.

"Honestly, it's about 30 years ago that I last saw a Grace shopping bag. I remember the bags. You could use them over and over. Sometimes they burst, yes. If you had chicken in your groceries, you couldn't put it at the bottom of the bag because it would burst. But I welcome back the paper bags," she shared with The Gleaner.

She also recalled other uses of the big paper bags.

"If the bag had a tear and couldn't carry groceries anymore, they would be used as door mats because they were kind of thick and strong, almost like thin cardboard. People would put it at their doorway and you wipe your foot on them," she said.

GLAD IT IS HAPPENING

Ellis' 21-year-old grandson, Troy Petgrave, said that he had no idea what his grandmother was talking about.

"I never see that bag yet, but I did geography and social studies at school, and I know that plastic is not good for the environment. I didn't expect them to ban it because the whole world seems like it is going disposable, but not everything that we dispose of is good for the environment," he said.

He said that the only place he had ever received paper bags was when he bought patties or filled prescriptions.

"I am glad it is happening," Petgrave said.

Peter Knight, chief executive officer of NEPA, said that plastic is destroying the environment, especially marine life. In fact, fish were now consuming plastic.

"The answer is simple. Paper is biodegradable. It is better for the environment. The breakdown period is short, and once it breaks down, it can be used for mulching," he told the forum.

Grandmother Ellis is also hoping that disposable diapers will soon be a thing of the past.

"Hopefully, diapers will banned, and these young girls who having babies and can't wash will go back to buying bird-eye material for their baby nappies," she said.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com