As I hang around the group of freegans, I've gradually become slightly more environmentally conscious. So I don't take plastic bags from supermarkets anymore. I still use my AIA vitality vouchers at cold storage but I just take out the reusable bags which I keep in my backpack all the time.
I've also started bringing out dabao containers so that I can pack any leftover food which I am not able to finish if I ever go out to eat with my friends or wife.
And I even carry a small water bottle with me, so that I always have water with me and I don't need to buy any from 7-11 or any other place. Saves money and reduces the proliferation of single use plastics.
So anyway, back to plastic bags...
The thing is... Just around a year back, I was still taking plastic bags from NTUC. Where else would I throw away all my daily rubbish... But as I went around being freegan, and consciously being more environmentally conscious, I realize, there's a lot of stuff to throw rubbish in...
For instance, I think many of us have paper bags... Nice looking paper bags from Bee Cheng Hiang, Eu Yan Sang, DFS, etc etc... Most of us have a load of these nicer bags that we just keep in the storeroom, they look nice so people don't use them as rubbish bags, but... End up... People don't even use them at all. They are usually just hoarded and stored in the storeroom forever. And when it's time for spring cleaning, people just dump loads of these nice bags away...
The first thing I did when I stopped taking plastic bags was to use these other plastic bags or paper bags, like those big ones from Takashimaya. Don't bluff, I'm sure most of us have a load of these bags at home, but we think it's too nice to be used as rubbish bags...
Well... Instead of taking new plastic bags from supermarkets, I'd suggest just using whatever you already have at home. Else it's just going to be wasted anyway.
Recently, I walked past the rubbish area of my block... And on the ground, there was 2 big paper bags of paper/plastic bags... LV bags, Miu Miu, etc... Nice pretty paper bags for delivering a gift, but after that, they were hoarded and eventually discarded by someone. I picked up these 2 big bags and brought them home... So now I have more paper bags for throwing away rubbish in.
So really, we don't really need to take more plastic bags from supermarkets.
We think we need plastic bags cos we're so used to wrapping our rubbish in plastic bags from supermarkets. The thing is... Any bag will do, any box will do. Instead of throwing away the tissue box into the plastic bag... Why not just use the tissue box itself as a rubbish container?
There are so many other options...
Thing is... I'm not really environmentally conscious... I don't think so much about the environment. But that doesn't mean I just take more than I can consume. If I don't need more food, I don't take it. Even though I can get a lot of food for free. If I don't need more items I don't take it also. Even though I can get stuff for free. And in this case, I don't need more plastic bags or paper bags. So I don't take them too.
It's really not so troublesome to carry around a reusable cloth bag in my backpack all the time. I carry 3 reusable bags at all times. Cos I can give to my friends if they want one. Furthermore, I still have plenty from the stash at home.
I find it's really a habit issue. I was always resistant to the idea of carrying around reusable bags initially. I thought it would be troublesome. But once I actually put the reusable bags into my backpack, then I very naturally took them out when I needed to use them. The main issue, I realized, is that I never did the first step. Which is just to go take the cloth bag from the storeroom and put it in my backpack. Once I did that first step, it became very normal to keep using it.
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I've also started bringing out dabao containers so that I can pack any leftover food which I am not able to finish if I ever go out to eat with my friends or wife.
And I even carry a small water bottle with me, so that I always have water with me and I don't need to buy any from 7-11 or any other place. Saves money and reduces the proliferation of single use plastics.
So anyway, back to plastic bags...
The thing is... Just around a year back, I was still taking plastic bags from NTUC. Where else would I throw away all my daily rubbish... But as I went around being freegan, and consciously being more environmentally conscious, I realize, there's a lot of stuff to throw rubbish in...
For instance, I think many of us have paper bags... Nice looking paper bags from Bee Cheng Hiang, Eu Yan Sang, DFS, etc etc... Most of us have a load of these nicer bags that we just keep in the storeroom, they look nice so people don't use them as rubbish bags, but... End up... People don't even use them at all. They are usually just hoarded and stored in the storeroom forever. And when it's time for spring cleaning, people just dump loads of these nice bags away...
The first thing I did when I stopped taking plastic bags was to use these other plastic bags or paper bags, like those big ones from Takashimaya. Don't bluff, I'm sure most of us have a load of these bags at home, but we think it's too nice to be used as rubbish bags...
Well... Instead of taking new plastic bags from supermarkets, I'd suggest just using whatever you already have at home. Else it's just going to be wasted anyway.
Recently, I walked past the rubbish area of my block... And on the ground, there was 2 big paper bags of paper/plastic bags... LV bags, Miu Miu, etc... Nice pretty paper bags for delivering a gift, but after that, they were hoarded and eventually discarded by someone. I picked up these 2 big bags and brought them home... So now I have more paper bags for throwing away rubbish in.
So really, we don't really need to take more plastic bags from supermarkets.
We think we need plastic bags cos we're so used to wrapping our rubbish in plastic bags from supermarkets. The thing is... Any bag will do, any box will do. Instead of throwing away the tissue box into the plastic bag... Why not just use the tissue box itself as a rubbish container?
There are so many other options...
Thing is... I'm not really environmentally conscious... I don't think so much about the environment. But that doesn't mean I just take more than I can consume. If I don't need more food, I don't take it. Even though I can get a lot of food for free. If I don't need more items I don't take it also. Even though I can get stuff for free. And in this case, I don't need more plastic bags or paper bags. So I don't take them too.
It's really not so troublesome to carry around a reusable cloth bag in my backpack all the time. I carry 3 reusable bags at all times. Cos I can give to my friends if they want one. Furthermore, I still have plenty from the stash at home.
I find it's really a habit issue. I was always resistant to the idea of carrying around reusable bags initially. I thought it would be troublesome. But once I actually put the reusable bags into my backpack, then I very naturally took them out when I needed to use them. The main issue, I realized, is that I never did the first step. Which is just to go take the cloth bag from the storeroom and put it in my backpack. Once I did that first step, it became very normal to keep using it.
<<PREVIOUS POST // NEXT POST>>
Did you like this post? If so, could you "blanjah" me 1/4 cup of my morning coffee pls.
You may also consider subscribing to receive the articles in your email, link in the column on the right.
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