MANILA, Philippines - The ban on plastic bags had led to the increased use of brown paper bags and even newspapers as food wraps, thus raising “potential public health and safety hazard,” an industry official said.
In a statement, plastic industry spokesman Crispian Lao warned that using brown paper and newspapers as food wrap is “not safe given the chemicals they contain and the uncertainty about where the recycled waste paper come from.”
Lao noted that health authorities in the Philippines and in other developing countries have not yet issued any standards that would qualify such recycled paper as safe as food wrap.
“We are raising this fact not to bring down paper but to point out the unintended and costly consequences of the plastic ban, which in most instances has denied the public a cheap food-grade wrapping material,” he noted.
White paper in general is “food-safe” if it comes from virgin and not recycled paper while brown paper and newspapers could have just been picked up from anywhere and they may also contain harmful chemicals.
“That is why you will notice when you order french fries or pizza, the food itself is not in direct contact with the brown paper or carton packaging. In the case of pizza, wax paper holds the pizza underneath but the top cover might still get in contact with the food unless, as some outlets do, a plastic item is provided to hold it up,” he added.
There have been efforts in the Philippines to limit the use of plastic bags to address the garbage problem. Some supermarkets and department stores, for instance, have assigned a specific day when they will charge a certain amount for plastic bags to encourage customers to bring their own bags.
Lao, however, claimed that in supermarkets, the plastic ban had also given rise to some problems. “Baggers before used to make sure that food is kept from other items like soap and other non-food items by using individual plastic bags.”
“But without plastic, all the items are thrown together in the consumer’s bag or in the cartons provided by the supermarkets,” he said.
Lao claimed the plastic ban should be lifted. And instead, people should be allowed to choose between paper and plastic “as is done in developed countries that had studied the consequences of a plastic ban and know that it does not work.”
“Our irresponsible ways of disposing of plastic and other waste is to blame, not plastic. We are the problem; (so) we are also the solution. Banning plastic misses the problem completely. It is an egregious mismatch between problem and solution,” he added.
Lao had sought a “comprehensive approach from segregation to collection to transport to dumpsites” to resolve the country’s garbage problems.
“The law is adequate. What is not is the enforcement,” he maintained.
The statement showed that the plastic ban also carries environmental costs because one ton of papers requires the cutting of 17 trees “that would have helped absorb carbon dioxide in the air among other things.”
To make one paper bag, a gallon of clean water is needed, which is all that is required to make 116 plastic bags.
“Paper manufacturing also needs five times more energy than plastic, producing more greenhouse gases that worsen global warming,” the statement showed.