02.16.07
Paper or Plastic?
Today I went to the market and bought an onion. The seller wrapped it in a plastic bag. It was the only thing I bought, and I wasn’t really sure what kind of difficulty carrying an onion possesed, which would require me to seek the assistance of a plastic bag. The Chinese have a peculiar fixation with plastic bags. Every item, no matter how small or easily carried is wrapped in the obligatory plastic. It’s almost as if anything purchased in China must not leave the store without being first wrapped in plastic.
Don’t get me wrong, plastic bags are an incredible invention and certainly have their place in society. Try living a week without using a plastic bag, and see how far you get. The strange thing in China is that their use is almost more compulsory rather than functional, as if you don’t get your item wrapped in plastic, you are somehow being ripped off. I’m not talking about going to the grocery store, buying a week’s worth of groceries and having them wrapped up. What I am talking about is walking into a store empty handed, buying a single item, such as toothpaste, a bottle of water, or beef jerky and having it wrapped in a bag. The other day, I even went to the store to buy a pack of trash bags, and those were wrapped in a bag. Even items which already come in a bag such as bread and laundry detergent are wrapped in another plastic bag when you buy them.
To me this all seems a little ridiculous and wasteful. I am no major environmental activist, but this got me thinking…Imagine the ecological effect if everybody in China (there are 1.3 billion people officially) used one less bag per day. That’s 1.3 billion bags per day which don’t end up in the incinerator and floating around the atmosphere, (which is what happens to most trash in China). Actually, I began thinking about this over a year ago, and since then whenever I buy less than 3 things, I ask for no bag, and my savings have easily eclipsed one bag per day. The shop attendants look at me funny when I tell them I don’t need a bag, as if I’m telling them I don’t need my change back or something. Then I simply politely tell them that it’s wasteful to wrap a single item in a bag, and that it’s just as easy to carry it in your hands. Usually they agree, but still continue their policy of wrapping single items in bags.
continued 3/24/07 in Paper or Plastic? (update)
Matt
said,
February 16, 2007 at 11:25 pm
They do that in America too. Some stores (like Whole Foods or Wild Oats) will give you 5c back for every bag you bring in.
James
said,
February 16, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Ben, 对于这个问题，我和你非常有同感。在我去买一两件小东西时，结账后，看到营业员要套塑料袋，我一般都会说不用塑料袋了，但有时稍不留神，那塑料袋就套上了。这真是非常不理性的事情，虽是小事，但反映了中国人民对环境问题的漠视。但是，我们又能做什么呢？
中国刚进入工业化时代不久，环境问题对大家是个比较新的课题。而现在，虽然环境已经快速恶化，但大多数百姓还为基本的生活经济收入而烦恼，环境问题并不是他们的首要考虑。还有很大一部分人受教育水平很低，甚至不知道塑料袋会污染环境（比如我妈，她就不知道，我奶奶就更不知道了）。也就是说，中国人的环保意识非常薄弱，这是根本问题所在。
正是因为很弱的环保意识，中国还没有相关完善的立法，就算有了相关的法律，执行情况也一定不乐观。因此工厂制造一个塑料袋的成本很低，商店使用一个塑料袋的成本也很低，那么竞争激烈的商店就认为使用塑料袋给客人装商品，是提供给顾客的便利，而顾客也乐于接受，很快，这也就成了行业惯例。于是，营业员也就机械地执行了，不管东西是多是少，就是一瓶水，一包饼干，都要习惯性套塑料袋了。
所以，我们能做什么呢。只有等到环境再烂下去，大家都无法忍受了，或者大家收入再提高些，多关心生活质量之后，这个问题才会解决吧。
当一切成为了习惯，我们就很少再问为什么了，还是要你这个老外看得出我们这可笑的习惯。
Benjamin Ross
said,
February 17, 2007 at 12:47 am
James always leaves very interesting comments on my blog in Chinese. For those of you who don’t read Chinese, let me give you a little translation. James, meanwhile – feel free to keep posting in Chinese. It’s always nice to see some han zi on the blog.
Ben, In regards to this problem, I totally agree with you. When I am buying only one or two things at the store, and the store attendant wraps them in plastic, I usually tell them not to wrap them in plastic, but sometimes I don’t pay attention, and they wrap it anyway. This really isn’t very logical. Even though this is a small matter, it is a reflection of Chinese people and environmental problems. But what can we do?
China has just recently entered the industrial age, and environmental problems are a relatively new concept. Even though environmental problems are rapidly becoming worse and worse, most regular people are just worried about their basic quality of life. The environment is not the first thing they think about. Also, a big part of the population is not well-educated. They don’t even know a plastic bag can bring about pollute the environment (for example, my mother, she doesn’t know, and my grandmother is even more clueless). That is to say Chinese people’s environmental conciousness is very weak. This is the main problem.
In addition to the general public not being very knowledgeable about the environment, China also doesn’t have much environmental legislation. Even if there were such legislation, the situation wouldn’t necessarily get any better. Because manufacturing a plastic bag is so cheap, the cost to stores for using plastic bags is cheap too. Because of fierce competition, stores want to give their customers plastic bags, because they feel it gives them an advantage, which customers are willing to accept, thus creating industry standards for service. The service person at the store is just a part of this process. It doesn’t matter if the thing is big or small, whether it’s a bottle of water or a pack of cookies, they are all accustomed to wrapping everything in a plastic bag.
So, what can we do? Just wait for the environment gets so bad that people can’t put up with it? Or will everybody begin to do their part, care more about their quality of life, and this problem will get solved?
When everything becomes habbit, we stop asking why, then we need some outsider to come and point out how ridiculous it is.
James
said,
February 17, 2007 at 12:55 am
Ben,中国和美国之间有很大的文化和社会制度不同。
文化上，中国人肯定是比美国人没有环保意识。另外，我自己知道使用塑料袋是破坏环境的，但是我不大习惯去劝告我的朋友少用塑料袋，我的朋友可能会觉得我小题大作。
社会制度上呢，我们现在还没有集会结社的自由，更不用说会有环保组织影响选举，或是要求国家出台严格的环保法律。
没有国家的法律，又没有公众的环保意识，那么在中国目前单一追求经济发展的环境下，追逐利润的企业也就更不会因为环保问题给自己增加成本了。
所以说，我目前对这一问题是比较悲观的。当然，我们还是可以做点什么的，比如，我们在你的博客上讨论这个话题，来看你博客的人，也就会注意到这一点而有所改进的。若要发起grassroots activism，你的号召力应该也还是比较大的，比如你的学生一定会听你的。而我，只叫过一个人要少使用塑料袋，那就是Maria。
Benjamin Ross
said,
February 17, 2007 at 3:23 pm
(translated from James’ Chinese)
Ben, there are a lot of differences between the social and cultural systems of China and the United States. Chinese people definitely don’t have as much environmental consciousness as Americans. Personally, I know that wasting plastic bags can hurt the environment, but I am not used to trying to tell others to do so as well, and if I do so, they will think I am making a big deal about a small problem.
Right now in China we don’t have a way to freely assemble and bring up these problems and vote. Also there’s no way to ask the country to set up stricter laws.
If there are no laws, the masses will be uninformed. Presently with China’s economic development, corporations are trying to increase their profits, and protecting the environment raises costs.
In sum, this is quite a big problem thesedays. Of course there are ways to help, such as discussing this topic in blogs. People who read these things in blogs might be able to improve on the present condition. If you want to start grassroots activism, you must be charismatic, and people will listen, such as your students. But for me, I just ask one person to use less plastic, that’s Maria (my girlfriend).
Jeremy
said,
May 7, 2007 at 5:56 pm
hey,ben,u really got some insight at chinese society. thats terrific.
yeah,we do use a hell lotta plastic bags. obviously it aint good for the environment.
M.
said,
May 13, 2007 at 2:05 am
The plastic bag issue….
It really bogs me, after having read about plastic floating in the ocean and killing birds etc.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/oceans/la-me-ocean2aug02,0,71579,full.story
I do think that the whole plastic problem in China is getting worse. I don’t know why. It might be considered better service is something is wrapped, even if it’s really not necessary. I’ve noticed that many oranges and lemons are individually wrapped now. I do not buy them, I try to buy things that aren’t wrapped (and are locally produced). I refuse plastic bags every time a person tries to give it to me. If them give me a surprised look I will tell them that anmils eat plastic and it kills them and then I’ll put my groceries in my backpack.
yeah… I’m lecturing, and I probably shouldn’t… but I just cannot help it. I really do worry about the environment.
An off topic question: does anyone know why there aren’t many clear sky days here in Fujian? Today I went to Tong An, and the view reminded me of dusty towns that I saw in the Xinjiang desert.
Benjamin Ross
said,
May 13, 2007 at 2:25 am
The main reason there aren’t many clear days in Fujian is because the pollution gets trapped in by the mountains. What part of Fujian are you in? Actually, compared to many other parts of China, Fuzhou’s air is pretty good. Try spending a week in Shanxi or Hebei and you’ll know what I mean. If you’re looking for nice air, check out Xiamen…cleanest air I have ever experienced in China.
Benjamin Ross
said,
May 16, 2007 at 3:13 pm
I didn’t think this was necessarily worthy of a whole new post it, but I wanted to mention it nonetheless. Yesterday I was at the grocery story and I bought a 600 mL bottle (the small one) of fanta, and that was it. They wrapped it in a plastic bag. This becomes even more ridiculous when you consider I had drank half of the bottle already while walking around the store.
Ada
said,
May 22, 2007 at 9:31 pm
hi, Ben, so happy to see your intresting stories here. and also really impressed by your way of living in China and also the curiosity of living as a Chinese of the lowest class as you do in a barber’s shop.
As to the plastic bag thing, I do share the same opinion with you. When I go buying my weekly fruits and vegatables around the neighborhood now, i am taking my own bag made of cloth. But in supermarkets, they are still using plastic bags and even in shopping mall buying clothes, sitll plastic bags. I prefer paper bags personally, and most of my well educated friends share the same idea, but for the major of Chinese people, they are still so busy and so worried about their own living instead of paying so much attention on how the environments will be. I believe this situation will be different when more and more people are realizing the importance of being aware of the earth we are living in, and when our government spares the attention on advertising and encouraging the protection of environment on this point of view.
I am working in HP, where a lot of foreign colleagues experience almost the same thing with you. Whatever, wish you a happy life in China. and wellcome to Dalian, a northan coastal city for a visit.
Heilong
said,
May 24, 2007 at 3:56 am
A few years ago in my country (Ireland) the goverment made a new law that all plastic bags must be purchased and no longer give free in shops, paper bags are still free, People hate this and it took a long time to get used to bring your own bags to the shop and reusing them again and again. Right now it cost 15 cent for a small plastic bag and about $1.20(US) for a large bag. I dont think this approch would work in china as shops try to have strict control over what people bring into shops incase they try to steal.(all those special zip over security bags they foorce you to carry your belongings in).
I wouldnt try to change Chinese thinking to much on this issue as you will 99% fail, maybe try America first, Kyoto treaty anybody!
meiqi
said,
May 29, 2007 at 5:59 pm
I don’t agree to excessive use of plastic bags either, but it has to be said that Chinese families also recycle their plastic bags. Usually for garbage bags. But nicer ones are re-used as bags. If we compare that to American families who buy garbage (plastic) bags, can it be said that one has better environment-friendly habit than the other?
I do agree that environmental consciousness is less in developing countries as stated in previous comments. Also, my knowledge of Chinese families are limited to Indonesian Chinese. However, people in developing countries usually have less resources to squander about e.g. plastic bags. Another example in Indonesia, there is no formal recycle program, but bottles, papers are collected and resold/bartered for household items.
Just a thought.
Stumbled across your blog, and enjoyed the writings and comments. Good site to procrastinate.
Thomas Young
said,
September 26, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Hi Ben, I came to your blog by chance. Perhaps this article with the key words of plastic bag, so it came to me incidently when I was surfing on the Internet.
Now as an international trader on the line of plastic packaging products, esp. plastic bags, I hereby have different views from you and your friends.
Plastic bag itself does affect environment since it cost a long period to degrade, which would live longer than a person does according to some experts. DefinItely it is correct. But we must come to that point, that is, scientific methods become more and more, and maturer little by little. Take the plastic bags at my hand, they are all manufactured based on Oxo-biodegradable technology, which can be widely adopted to most kinds of plastic material, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester and so on. Plastic products with this would be biodegraded into water and carbon-dioxide, which will not damage animals or plants. What’s more, these kinds of products can also be controlled on their degrade time.
In a word, this family of plastic bags would exist for a long period. In the foreseeable future, it weighs more than paper since it gets the advantage over paper. Actually it also causes environmental pollution during the production of paper.
Amberite
said,
January 12, 2008 at 11:35 pm
I just wanted to mention a recent piece of news via SEPA: Free plastic bags will be banned in June ‘08, replaced with cheap and more durable ones you can buy and re-use!
I’m really impressed that they’re on it.