<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Let's not go back to the 50s to save the earth
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to the Forum Online letter by Madam Seah Nida, 'Take drastic steps to curb use of plastic and styrofoam' (June 17), and disagree with her unrealistic condemnation of anything plastic.
I would like to pose a question to environmentalists: What would happen if the world suddenly eschewed all plastic packaging and switched to leaf wrappers?
Banana, lotus, bamboo and coconut leaves make the best food wrappers. We used them before the leap to the modernity of plastic bags and containers, and styrofoam for hygiene, light weight, mouldability, automatic packaging and convenience.
Leaves are practical, multi-purpose and environment-friendly. Could we use them to wrap McDonald's breakfasts, takeaways at foodcourts and hawker centres? Is it cost-effective and hygienic to auto-pack individual items like sushi, sashimi, nonya kueh, sweet rolls and cakes in bamboo leaf wraps in food factories? Can the food industry use banana leaves to pack tofu, fishcake and ice cream?
Using leaves may cost us dearly because of the sheer quantity needed to meet modern-day packaging requirements. Imagine the amount of leaves to be harvested and the loss of carbon dioxide converters. The key is progress and choosing the lesser of two evils.
Let us find sustainable and practical substitutes for food wrapping materials and plastic bags before eschewing plastics.
It is not helpful to echo the calls of environmentalists to ban plastic bags and use paper or biodegradable materials. In fact, plastic and biodegradables virtually do not decompose in landfill where garbage is kept from air and water to prevent bad materials from leaching into ground water. Nor can incinerators help reduce global warming. We can only mitigate by cutting use of fossil fuels to balance plastic consumption.
To save the earth, I do not want to go back to the 1950s and use plant leaves to wrap food. However, I am prepared to compromise and take my own reusable canvas bag shopping.
Paul Chan
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to the Forum Online letter by Madam Seah Nida, 'Take drastic steps to curb use of plastic and styrofoam' (June 17), and disagree with her unrealistic condemnation of anything plastic.
I would like to pose a question to environmentalists: What would happen if the world suddenly eschewed all plastic packaging and switched to leaf wrappers?
Banana, lotus, bamboo and coconut leaves make the best food wrappers. We used them before the leap to the modernity of plastic bags and containers, and styrofoam for hygiene, light weight, mouldability, automatic packaging and convenience.
Leaves are practical, multi-purpose and environment-friendly. Could we use them to wrap McDonald's breakfasts, takeaways at foodcourts and hawker centres? Is it cost-effective and hygienic to auto-pack individual items like sushi, sashimi, nonya kueh, sweet rolls and cakes in bamboo leaf wraps in food factories? Can the food industry use banana leaves to pack tofu, fishcake and ice cream?
Using leaves may cost us dearly because of the sheer quantity needed to meet modern-day packaging requirements. Imagine the amount of leaves to be harvested and the loss of carbon dioxide converters. The key is progress and choosing the lesser of two evils.
Let us find sustainable and practical substitutes for food wrapping materials and plastic bags before eschewing plastics.
It is not helpful to echo the calls of environmentalists to ban plastic bags and use paper or biodegradable materials. In fact, plastic and biodegradables virtually do not decompose in landfill where garbage is kept from air and water to prevent bad materials from leaching into ground water. Nor can incinerators help reduce global warming. We can only mitigate by cutting use of fossil fuels to balance plastic consumption.
To save the earth, I do not want to go back to the 1950s and use plant leaves to wrap food. However, I am prepared to compromise and take my own reusable canvas bag shopping.
Paul Chan
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