After a brief hiatus, the plastic bags have started propping up with modifications in commercial outlets. The supply is certainly less, but the commercial outlets fear losing customers who are forgetful of bringing their reusable bags to take the stuff after purchase.
On January 1, 2021, the Sultanate of Oman banned single-use plastic bags, suggesting shoppers carry their shopping bags to help contribute to the government’s efforts to conserve the environment.
The single-use plastic bags are making a comeback with some modifications. So who is at fault for this? The customers who don’t carry their bags or the outlets providing the bags?
“Providing plastic bags was never our intention, but we were forced to give because many customers come without any bags. This is a big challenge for us’’, says a leading departmental store manager.
“Our customers used to bring in their shopping bags with them initially when the ban order was passed. Later on, they started to apologise for not bringing bags, nor did most of them want to purchase the environment-friendly bags that we sell. Who would want to lose customers for a few baisas? But we make sure that the bags that we provide are environment-friendly’’, the store manager adds.
However, heavy plastic bags, which the outlets provide, also pose a threat to the ecosystem as they take a long time to degenerate, according to experts.
“These heavy bags are no less dangerous to our environment, especially as we don’t believe people are treating them differently to the thinner plastic bags, and mostly they are not being reused. These plastic bags can take up to one thousand years to degrade and even then, they leave microplastics that pollute the environment and our human health’’, says Omar al Riyami, Board Member at Environment Society Oman.
nature-lovers
Environmentalists and nature-lovers had heaved a sigh of relief when the Sultanate of Oman took a major step towards reducing the impact of plastics by banning single-use plastic bags in 2021.
“Plastic bags exist because the supermarkets are still giving bags. We need to keep telling the people to bring their reusable bags for shopping as plastic bags whether they are single-use or reusable, it is harmful to the environment’’, says Ammujam Raveendran, an active environmentalist whose team ‘Save Oman Beaches’ engage in a beach clean-up on Saturdays.
“As responsible shoppers, people must get into the habit of using reusable and eco-friendly fabric bags, which will help in eliminating the plastic bags from supermarkets. A shift in the attitude is the key to a better environment’’, adds Ammujam.
The ESO, as part of its campaign launched in 2021 with the support from Oman LNG, urged the community to adopt changes in their daily behaviour to live a sustainable life given the known fact that plastic waste materials are a huge threat to the environment. The community has a responsibility to ensure that the next generation enjoys the natural beauty of plants and wildlife by saving the environment.
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