1. Contents
Introduction------------------------------------------------------ 2
Why DFC?
Background Research--------------------------------------- 3-19
Referencing past efforts to promote recycling
Methodology---------------------------------------------------- 20-22
Preparation
Action Week
Impact and Reflections--------------------------------------- 23
People who were impacted by our campaign
Thoughts and reflections
Appendix and Acknowledgements--------------------- 4-31
Acknowledgements
Survey
Results
Analysis
1

2. Why This DFC Journey? Introduction
Even though we had not chosen DFC at the beginning and had been
allocated to the challenge, we still found the Challenge very meaningful.
We believe it is the simple and yet, inspiring ideas that actually motivated
us to enjoy this project. We could do simple things and influence the people
around us about our worries and causes.
The objective of our project was to reduce the usage of plastic bags
and promote the usage of other types of bags. We felt very strongly that
plastic bags are grossly overused, this can especially be seen in
supermarkets, where they give the bags out freely. A weekly shopping trip
would easily get you 20 bags.
In our project, we used newspaper bags that are easy to make and
rather strong to replace plastic bags that are not environmentally friendly.
The newspaper bags were biodegradable and would not harm the
environment, thus it was a very suitable substitute for their harmful plastic
counterparts. We used the newspaper bags in our school bookshop, so
that we will be able to reach out to our peers and inform them about the
detrimental effects of plastic bags on Mother Earth. We did this for about a
week, and most people were supportive of using these bags instead of
plastic bags. We also set up a Facebook page as we feel that the internet
is a better platform to entice youngsters.
2

3. Background Research
For the research section of the project, each of us actually searched for
different sources on the internet. Each of these sources provided us with
different information that we need for our project. Some provided us with
statistics regarding the use of plastic bags while others stated the harmful
effects of excessively using plastic bags.
From these sources, we found out that using plastic bags excessively
has resulted in a huge accumulation of plastic wastes. This will not only
affect wildlife, but will also affect human health. The millions of tons of
plastic wastes in the world's oceans are breaking down and releasing
toxins posing a threat to marine life and humans. Plastic wastes in landfills
sink in harmful chemicals into groundwater. These chemicals are
dangerously absorbed by humans and will cause serious health concerns
such as altering hormones. Plastic debris is also ingested by hundreds of
species, choking and starving them.
All of these consequences indicate that using plastic bags excessively is
a very serious problem and should be resolved immediately since it is
causing harm to both the environment and us. In order to solve the problem,
firstly, we can reduce plastic waste by looking for products and packaging
made from renewable resources. Other than this, we should also choose
products that have the least amount of disposable parts like toothbrushes
with replaceable brushes. Consuming less will decrease the waste of
unnecessary plastics. Secondly, we can also recycle plastics. This will help
to reduce the production of plastics and hence, the amount of plastic
wastes. Thirdly, we can reuse preferably nontoxic containers and goods to
make less waste. Lastly, we can also help to improve the situation by
educating others about the suggestions listed above and why the excessive
use of plastics is dangerous.
Out of all these solutions, we chose to educate the public about the harm
caused by the excessive use of plastic bags and promote the use of eco-
friendly paper bags because unlike the other solutions, it will affect a larger
number of people, instead of just us.
3

4. Articles on Plastic Bags and the use of bio-degradable bags
Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags or plastic grocery bags are a common type of shopping
bag in several countries. These bags are sometimes called single-use bags, referring to
carrying items from a store to a home. However, reuse for storage or trash (bin bags) is
common. According to the UK's Environment Agency, 76% of carrier bags are reused. An
estimated 90% of individuals reuse plastic bags, and 56% of individuals reuse all plastic
shopping bags. Heavier duty plastic shopping bags are suitable for multiple uses as reusable
shopping bags. Plastic shopping bags are made of polyethylene. This can be low-density, resin
identification code 4, or most often high-density, resin identification code 2. Most plastic bags
are derived from natural gas.
Biodegradable materials
Although not in use today, plastic shopping bags could be made from Polylactic acid (PLA) a
biodegradable polymer derived from lactic acid. This is one form of vegetable-based bioplastic.
Bags can also be made from degradable polyethylene film. Most degradable bags do not readily
decompose in a sealed landfill and represent a possible contaminant to plastic recycling
operations.
Environmental concerns
According to Vincent Cobb a seller of reusable bags, each year millions of discarded plastic
shopping bags end up as litter in the environment when improperly disposed of. The same
properties that have made plastic bags so commercially successful and ubiquitous—namely
their low weight and resistance to degradation—have also contributed to their proliferation in the
environment. Due to their durability, plastic bags can take up to 100 years to decompose.As
they slowly decompose, plastic bags break into tiny pieces and leech toxic chemicals into soils,
lakes, rivers, and oceans.
On land, plastic bags are one of the most prevalent types of litter in inhabited areas, becoming
an eyesore to local residents. At their worst, plastic bags can clog drainage systems and
contribute to flooding, as occurred in Bangladesh in 1988 and 1998.When plastic bags are
washed out to sea, they pose a threat to animal life. In the decades since plastic bags first came
into wide use, there has been a dramatic increase in the quantity of plastic bags found floating
in oceans around the world. Once in the ocean, these bags can strangle wildlife or, if ingested,
can choke or cause wildlife to starve to death. Some marine animals including sea turtles, and
dolphins have been killed as a result of ingestion of plastic marine litter, including plastic bags.
Littering is often a bigger problem in developing countries, where trash collection infrastructure
is less developed, than in developed nations, however once plastic bags are swept out to sea
they can travel long distances in ocean currents.
Reuse and recycling
Heavy duty plastic shopping bags are suitable for reuse as reusable shopping bags. Lighter
weight bags are often reused as bin bags (trash bags) or to pick up pet faeces. All types of
plastic shopping bag can be recycled into new bags where effective collection schemes exist.
4

5. Since internet rumours started to claim that the Environmental Protection Agency had reported
only 1% of plastic bags were recycled, significant attention resulted in a 700% growth in the
recycling industry as new capacity led to a 7% rate. This resulted in more than 800 million lbs of
bags and other film being recycled in 2007 alone.
Bag legislation
Plastic bags are either restricted or completely banned in more than 25 percent of the world.
Belgium, Italy (total ban since January 1, 2011), Ireland and Hong Kong have legislation
discouraging the use and encouraging the recycling of plastic bags by imposing a fixed or
minimum levy for the supply of plastic bags or obliging retailers to recycle. In other jurisdictions,
including three states and territories of Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa and Thailand, plastic
bags are banned.
In the United States bans were imposed on local level, starting with San Francisco in 2007. In
2008, Westport, Connecticut banned plastic bags in grocery stores. In 2009, Edmond,
Washington banned plastic bags at retail stores. In 2010, Los Angeles County, Brownsville,
Texas, Bethel, Alaska approved similar bans. In the first few months of 2011, bans went into
effect in North Carolina’s Outerbanks Region, banning all plastic bags at all retailers. Similar
bans on municipality level were imposed in India, Mexico and UK.
The plastic bag levy introduced in Ireland in 2002, resulted in a reduction of over 90% in the
issuing of plastic shopping bags, the total reduction in plastic bag use was less than that due to
increased use of commercial trash bin-liners in place of the free shopping bags previously used
by many consumers. Sales of bin-liners have increased by 400% according to one industry
source. The "ban on free plastic bags" in China introduced in 2008 resulted in a reduction by
two thirds. In the United States, the five-cent tax levied on plastic bags in Washington, DC in
2010 resulted in a decrease in consumption from 22.5 million to 3 million bags in the first month
alone.
Many cities and states in the United States - including California, New York, Chicago, Delaware
and Baltimore - have addressed bag litter and landfill by enacting new recycling laws.
Source- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_shopping_bag
Personal reflection: This article tells us how plastic bags are formed and that they are non-
biodegradable. Even though there are biodegradable bags, they are not used. Plastic bags can
poison or suffocate marine animals as they are marine litters. Also, plastic bags will turn into
toxic wastes that will pollute soil and water after a long time. This article also shows that some
countries have imposed taxes and bans on plastic bags. In Singapore, this is not very common.
However, in IKEA, customers have to pay 10cents for each plastic bag but this is definitely not
enough to cope with the huge amount of usage of plastic bags in Singapore.
5

6. Are Plastic Grocery Bags Sacking the Environment?
John Roach
for National Geographic News
September 2, 2003
The "paper or plastic" conundrum that vexed earnest shoppers throughout the 1980s and 90s is
largely moot today. Most grocery store baggers don't bother to ask anymore. They drop the
bananas in one plastic bag as they reach for another to hold the six-pack of soda. The pasta
sauce and noodles will get one too, as will the dish soap.
Plastic bags are so cheap to produce, sturdy, plentiful, easy to carry and store that they have
captured at least 80 percent of the grocery and convenience store market since they were
introduced a quarter century ago, according to the Arlington, Virginia-based American Plastics
Council.
As a result, the totes are everywhere. They sit balled up and stuffed into the one that hangs
from the pantry door. They line bathroom trash bins. They carry clothes to the gym. They clutter
landfills. They flap from trees. They float in the breeze. They clog roadside drains. They drift on
the high seas. They fill sea turtle bellies.
"The numbers are absolutely staggering," said Vincent Cobb, an entrepreneur in Chicago,
Illinois, who recently launched the Web site http://Reusablebags.com to educate the public
about what he terms the "true costs" associated with the spread of "free" bags. He sells
reusable bags as a viable solution.
According to Cobb's calculations extrapolated from data released by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 on U.S. plastic bag, sack, and wrap consumption,
somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year.
Of those, millions end up in the litter stream outside of landfills—estimates range from less than
one to three percent of the bags.
Laurie Kusek, a spokeswoman for the American Plastics Council, said the industry works with
its U.S. retail customers to encourage recycling of plastic bags, which are in high demand from
companies such as Trex in Winchester, Virginia, for use in building materials.
"We also feel it is important to understand that plastic grocery bags are some of the most
reused items around the house," she said. "Many, many bags are reused as book and lunch
bags as kids head off to school, as trash can liners, and to pickup Fido's droppings off the lawn."
But like candy wrappers, chewing gum, cigarette butts, and thousands of other pieces of junk,
millions of the plastic bags end up as litter. Once in the environment, it takes months to
hundreds of years for plastic bags to breakdown. As they decompose, tiny toxic bits seep into
soils, lakes, rivers, and the oceans, said Cobb.
6

7. Plastic Fantastic
The Film and Bag Federation, a trade group within the Society of the Plastics Industry based in
Washington, D.C., said the right choice between paper or plastic bags is clearly plastic.
Compared to paper grocery bags, plastic grocery bags consume 40 percent less energy,
generate 80 percent less solid waste, produce 70 percent fewer atmospheric emissions, and
release up to 94 percent fewer waterborne wastes, according to the federation.
Robert Bateman, president of Roplast Industries, a manufacturer of plastic bags—including
reusable ones—in Oroville, California, said the economic advantage of plastic bags over paper
bags has become too significant for store owners to ignore. It costs one cent for a standard
plastic grocery sack, whereas a paper bag costs four cents, he said.
Source-
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0902_030902_plasticbags.html
Personal reflection : Although this article focuses mainly on US, I think it can apply to
Singapore as well. Between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each
year. The last sentence is very crucial. It says that plastic bags appeals to consumers more
compared to paper bags as they are cheaper. Hence, this is one of the factors that leads to the
over-usage of plastic bags.
Why waste plastic bags? Choose reusable bags!
News Release No: 2/2006
Date of Release: 11 February 2006
The next time a cashier asks if you would like a plastic bag for your purchases, pause to think
about whether you really need it.
Many of us readily accept more plastic bags than is necessary to bag our purchases. Many of
these plastic bags end up in the trash - or worse, flying off as litter into a drain somewhere.
Plastic bag litter is not only unsightly, it is also a potential breeding site for mosquitoes and
creates other environmental problems.
To promote conservation and minimize wastage, a national campaign to discourage the
excessive use of plastic bags has been launched. Instead of using plastic bags, we encourage
people to bring their own bags - or use reusable bags when they shop.
Singaporeans use about 2.5 billion plastic bags a year for bagging their purchases - or an
average of 2,500 bags per family, per year. These 2.5 billion plastic bags translate collectively to
19,000 tonnes or 0.8 per cent of the total waste disposed of in Singapore annually.
7

8. In many countries, used plastic bags are landfilled. This is not the case in Singapore where land
is scarce. Used plastic bags are incinerated along with all other waste, and generate electricity
in the process.
Although the disposal of used plastic bags is not an issue for Singapore, the liberal issue and
unnecessary use of plastic bags should be discouraged.
'We are not suggesting to do away with plastic bags altogether, as they can be used to bag
refuse and then be disposed of in our incineration plants.' said Lee Yuen Hee, Chief Executive
Officer, National Environment Agency. 'But we want our people to use reusable bags as far as
possible, and to take only as many plastic bags as they need, thereby cutting down on
wastage.'
Mr. Yatin Premchand, Senior Manager, Singapore Environment Council added, 'our purpose is
three-pronged: apart from discouraging wastefulness, we want to promote sustainability by
moving away from the single-use and disposable mentality towards that of maximizing the utility
of everything we use, and protecting the environment. In the urban context, plastic bags can
end up as litter, and in the natural environment, plastics have a strong tendency to suffocate
plant and marine life. Continuous education is key.'
To address this, NEA set up a working group comprising major supermarket chains, retailers,
Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) and Singapore Environment Council (SEC). Participating
retailers include Carrefour, Cheers, Cold Storage, Fairprice Xpress, Foodland, Giant, Guardian,
IKEA, Liberty Market, Market Place, NTUC FairPrice, Prime Supermarket, Sheng Siong, Shop N
Save, and 7-Eleven.
These retailers will make reusable bags available for sale at low prices. All the participating
retailers will make these reusable bags available at the launch of the campaign (except for
NTUC Fairprice stores, which have limited reusable bags as their new shipment of these bags
will arrive only in Mar 06). Participating retailers will display publicity materials such as standees,
wobblers and posters to raise public awareness. They have trained their cashiers to ask
shoppers if they need a plastic bag where appropriate. To give the campaign a further boost,
the retailers are also introducing incentives to encourage shoppers to use less plastic bags.
Executive director of SRA, Ms Lau Wei Chuen, said, 'this campaign is a partnership between
retailers and consumers. It is an opportunity for retailers to give back to the environment by
providing greener alternatives and {helping consumers live a sustainable lifestyle. In many
overseas retail markets, traders are increasingly offering reusable shopping bags to customers.
We and our members feel happy and privileged to be able to do our part.'
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, will grace the launch of
the campaign this Saturday (11 February) at Parkway Parade Shopping Centre.
Parkway Parade Shopping Centre was chosen because they had put in place environmental
initiatives on their own and have a goal of being an environmentally friendly shopping mall. They
were planning to launch their own reusable bags when they heard about this campaign.
'We are all consumers in one way or another, and as consumers, we have tremendous power
collectively to make a difference through our decisions - in this case, by choosing to cut waste
8

9. by refusing plastic bags that we don't need and using reusable bags instead,' said Victor Tan,
Fund Manager, Lend Lease Real Estate Investments Pte Ltd. Parkway Parade is managed by
Lend Lease Real Estate Investments Pte Ltd and they will be giving out reusable bags on the
day.
At the campaign launch, besides getting all the above participating / supporting retailers, and
individual retailers within Parkway Parade Shopping Centre to get shoppers to say yes to
reusable bags instead of plastic bags, a mini exhibition with games, quizzes and lucky draw will
be held to educate shoppers on the issue. Shoppers will be encouraged to pledge their
commitment to this cause and the results of a series of competitions for schools on the theme of
plastic bag reduction (jingles, photojournalism and pen your quip contests) will also be displayed
/ played.
Source:
http://app2.nea.gov.sg/news_detail_2006.aspx?news_sid=20081014108559433641
IMPORTANT STATISTICS : Singaporeans use about 2.5 billion plastic bags a year for bagging
their purchases - or an average of 2,500 bags per family, per year. These 2.5 billion plastic bags
translate collectively to 19,000 tonnes or 0.8 per cent of the total waste disposed of in Singapore
annually.
1 million plastic bags change hands each day
Publicity blitz involving supermarkets soon to make people use plastic bags less as they
are choking the environment
By Sharmilpal Kaur
MORE than one million plastic shopping bags are given out here each day. One researcher
estimates that people here use as many as 40 billion bags in a year.
While most of the bags are burnt in incinerators, many end up in rivers and swamps, choking
marine life and strangling mangroves.
During a coastal clean-up of the Kranji mangroves last year, the Singapore Environment Council
(SEC) found that plastic made up the bulk of the trash collected, forming as much as 65 per
cent of it. Almost a quarter of this comprised bags and wrapping.
SEC executive director Penelope Phoon said: 'Many plastic bags end up on the coastline,
causing serious damage to marine life.'
This is one of the reasons why the council is gearing up to launch a publicity blitz in June to
make people use plastic bags less. It hopes to get supermarkets involved in the campaign.
Some of the proposals for its 'Bag It' drive include introducing biodegradable bags and selling
reusable cloth and jute bags for between $3 and $5 at supermarkets.
9

10. If the project takes off, customers may be able to reclaim the cost of these bags if they return
them after using them, like they do with shopping carts.
The council is willing to go one step further by sourcing for manufacturers of the jute and cloth
bags, to make it easier for the supermarkets to make the switch.
Singapore's biggest supermarket chain, NTUC FairPrice, gives out a total of 160 million bags
each year.
Cold Storage spends about $2 million each year on the 70 million plastic bags it puts its
customers' goods in.
Several grocery shops said that many customers automatically ask for extra bags.
Plastic bags are usually used by households to dispose of their refuse, such as food waste, a
spokesman for the Environment Ministry (ENV) told The Straits Times.
She added: 'Plastic shopping bags are made of polyethylene and can be incinerated safely at
our plants, which are equipped with pollution-control equipment.'
To combat the problem of excessive plastic bags, Ireland began levying a tax on these
containers last month.
Asked if the ministry would consider imposing a similar levy, the ENV spokesman said that the
ministry is not against the use of plastic bags.
But she added that ENV would 'support any move by the retail sector to charge for plastic bags,
as this would reduce excessive usage'.
NTUC FairPrice has no plans at the moment to charge for the bags. A Cold Storage spokesman
added: 'We have conducted surveys, and the results indicate clearly that customers will not pay
for the shopping bags.'
Source: http://www.ecologyasia.com/news-archives/2002/apr-
02/straitstimes.asia1.com.sg_singapore_story_0,1870,111939,00.html
PERSONAL REFLECTION: “Singapore's biggest supermarket chain, NTUC FairPrice, gives
out a total of 160 million bags each year.Cold Storage spends about $2 million each year on the
70 million plastic bags it puts its customers' goods in.
Several grocery shops said that many customers automatically ask for extra bags.” Often when
we go to supermarkets, we actually ask for an extra bag for goods like seafood or bulky goods.
This article shows how Singaporeans refuse to pay for shopping bags. Thus, plastic bags would
be the most convenient product for the consumers.
10

11. Industry helps defeat Va. plastic-bag tax bill
Zinie Chen Sampson, Associated Press, On Wednesday 2 February 2011, 2:44 SGT
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Virginia legislators have defeated a proposal aimed at curbing pollution
and waste by imposing fees on the use of plastic bags, but bill sponsors are vowing to bring the
issue up again next year.
A measure that would have required stores to charge customers a 5-cent tax on paper bags and
disposable plastic bags died last week in a House of Delegates subcommittee after strong
opposition from the retail and chemical manufacturers' lobbies.
"It might be dead this year, but I'll be back like a virus," said Del. Joe Morrissey, D-Highland
Springs and a sponsor of one of the bills, which was combined with another measure. "I think
it's something that really couldn't be more nonpartisan."
Del. Adam Ebbin, D-Arlington, said his legislation was an effort to encourage people to change
their behavior to cut down on waste and benefit the environment. Shoppers who preferred
disposable plastic bags could have opted to pay a nickel per bag.
"The consumers would have a choice and if they chose to use the throwaway bags, they'd pay a
very small fee. So this is certainly a choice," Ebbin said.
Retailers would have retained a penny of each bag fee, or two cents if the stores offer customer
bag-credit programs. The revenues raised by the fee would have gone to the Virginia Water
Quality Improvement Fund.
Morrissey said people of all political persuasions are becoming increasingly concerned about
plastic-bag litter.
"People are going to get behind this," he said. "It's sad we're not a leader in this."
Made of petrochemical derivatives, plastic bags take decades to decompose. Many end up
outside landfills, carried into the air and littering roads and waterways, getting stuck in trees and
choking or strangling animals that swallow or get tangled up in the bags.
Plastic-bag manufacturers represented by the American Chemistry Council strongly oppose bag
taxes and bans, saying they're unworkable and kill jobs, and actively lobby against such
measures nationwide. They say they favor voluntary recycling -- but Morrissey and others note
that there aren't many facilities that are able to recycle most types of plastic bags.
South Africa, Ireland, Denmark and other nations and several U.S. cities have adopted plastic-
bag taxes or other restrictions. Several California communities are among those currently
considering whether to adopt similar measures. U.S. retailers have also voluntarily encouraged
shoppers to use their own bags by offering a small credit per bag, typically a nickel.
Washington, D.C., enacted its 5-cent disposable-bag tax in January 2010. City officials estimate
that before the fee, residents used about 270 million bags a year at grocery and convenience
11

12. stores. The most recent figures showed that residents were on track to reduce usage to about
55 million bags, or about 80 percent fewer bags. Retailers, meanwhile, have told city officials
they've cut down drastically on the number of bags they were buying.
The tax brought in a total of $1.9 million for cleanup of the Anacostia River in the first 10 months
of 2010.
Erik Assadourian, a senior fellow at sustainability think tank Worldwatch, said that governments
and businesses have the opportunity to shape consumer behavior to benefit the environment
and citizens' health. Addressing consumption issues comes down to readjusting cultural norms,
including the industry-driven idea that disposable bags represent a consumer choice that
shouldn't be taken away.
"There's a belief that can be tapped -- that we shouldn't have to pay for a bag. It's our
entitlement," Assadourian said. "The lobbying combined with small grass-roots groups to push
for the industry's agenda has been effective in working to stop the movement of these bans."
If it's more difficult for shoppers to get plastic bags, they start rationalizing they don't need them
anymore, Assadourian said. What begins as trying to save a nickel, over time, turns into doing
something because they care for the environment, he said.
Source : http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/Industry-helps-defeat-Va-apf-
2723975093.html?x=0
PERSONAL REFLECTION : This is one of the methods to lower the usage of plastic bags.
We have to consider factors like consumer’s opinion, plastic bags manufacturers.
McDonald's Muntinlupa to ditch plastic bags
MANILA, Philippines - All McDonald's outlets in Muntinlupa will be serving food and drinks only
in paper packaging.
The fast food chain said it has decided to ditch plastic bags and styrofoam in its Muntinlupa
branches to comply with a city ordinance that bans the use of said products in commercial
establishments within the city.
McDonald's was referring to the Muntinlupa City government's Ordinance 10-1010-109, which
was enacted mainly to avoid future drainage problems.
"Upon implementation of this City Ordinance, McDonald's had issued paper packaging to all its
Muntinlupa stores," the fast food chain said in a statement released Wednesday.
On top of these, McDonald's said it will recall all styrofoam and plastic materials inside their
stores.
Last year, retail companies Ayala Malls, Ever Malls, Hi-Top Supermarket, Isetann Malls, Makro,
Robinson's Supermart, Savemore, SM Hypermart and SM Supermarkets have pledged to
charge customers whenever they use plastic bags while grocery shopping every Wednesday.
12

13. Plastic bag makers have expressed concern that they may experience a dip in sales this year
because of campaigns that urge shoppers to stop using the said products, BusinessWorld
earlier reported.
They stressed that plastic products can still be used without harming the environment.
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/03/23/11/mcdonalds-muntinlupa-
ditch-plastic-bags
This is a plastic bag that we came
across when shopping in Urban
Write.
This is also one of the methods to
save the environment by
producing oxo-biodegradable
bags.
13

14. Methodology
Work Allocation:
Making of newspaper bags: Ryan Chan, Wu Hao Hsuan.
Background Research: Yang Yu Chuan, Wu Hao Hsuan
Contacting Popular Bookstore: Wu Hao Hsuan
Actual Action (Giving out newspaper bags, campaign): Ryan Chan, Wu
Hao Hsuan, Yang Yu Chuan, Zhou Tian Yu
Documentation/ Photos: Yang Yu Chuan
Facebook group: Ryan Chan
Timeline:
April-June: Background Research, Design of Newspaper Bags
July- Making of newspaper bags in bulk, setting up Facebook group,
contacting Popular
August- Carrying out of Action week, documentation, photos
Resource Management:
As our campaign aims to replace plastic bags with newspaper bags, we
need a lot of newspaper. We asked our classmates to bring all unwanted
newspapers to school and we collected them the next day.
We also needed approval from authority in order to carry out our project.
Hence, we contacted Ms Erica Tan and gained her support for our cause.
Making use of our lunch breaks, we managed to find time to carry out our
project in the bookstore. This is more efficient as a lot of student will tend to
visit the store to shop for school needs during their lunch breaks.
14

15. Who were Involved:
Firstly, our project is a humanities-based environmental campaign.
Therefore, our project needs to start with common people, especially young
students who hold the Earth’s future. “We do not own the Earth, we merely
borrowed them from our future generations.” The results of reusing
materials will only be significant if a large number of people do it. However,
no matter how big a project is, it will have to start with a small number a
people. It’s a small step we take towards using materials. Therefore, we
gained the support of the Popular Bookshop Staff and Manager, and we
gave out newspaper to students, who are our main target.
Survey, Interviews, Observations:
We conducted a survey during our Action week of 7 days and we observed
certain trends. 63% of students who used our newspaper bags stated that
they will definitely use newspaper bags if they get the chance to. (In Future)
However, 67% stated that the quality of our newspaper bags did not meet
their expectations. This is because the bags are not water-proof and not
durable. We will continue to work on this in future as we experiment with
new materials. Also, 73% of our target students do not recycle proactively.
As the impacts of global warming are not that significantly as of now, these
youngsters do not see the urgency. All the more, our project should be
used as a tool to trigger the sense of urgency to reuse and recycle. More
details of the survey can be found in the appendix.
Action Week:
Our action week consisted of different components:
1) Giving out newspaper bags to customers of RI popular bookstore.
2) Campaigning/Explaining to the students about our newspaper bags
and the environmental benefits.
15

16. 3) Photography with customers who use our bags.
4) Setting up of Facebook page, to attract youngsters who use the
internet often.
Customers who used
our newspaper bags.
When a customer proceeded to the cashier, we would address ourselves and introduce
to them our newspaper bags and our cause. Then they can choose to use or not to use
(if they only purchased a very small item). After they had made the payment, we would
proceed to inform them of our Facebook group to stay in touch with the project.
Impact:
Although the number of people we impacted did not exceed beyond 3-digits, we
influenced quite a number of people within a short time-span of 7 days.
Approximately 140+ people either used our newspaper bags or acknowledged our
Facebook page.
Some feedback was: “It is for a good cause but I feel that there is room for improvement”
“It is inspiring to see young adults actually doing hands-on work to save the Earth”
“ I hope the newspaper bags can be further improved so that they can be used by more
organizations”.
We feel that most youngsters do not recycle actively. However, if there are new and
innovative ideas to motivate them, they are very willing to try out new recycling ideas.
16

17. Reflection
Our project can be considered a success. We managed to meet our objective, which
was to show our school, RI, the disadvantages of using plastic bags and benefits of
recycling them. We also gave out newspaper bags, which are more environmentally
friendly, to RI students who purchased stuff at our school’s Popular bookshop instead of
the usual plastic bags. The motive of this is to let them adapt to the idea of using
newspaper bags instead of plastic bags.
One of the many strengths of our group is that we possess strong determination and
tenacity. We displayed the “I can” attitude clearly and persevered despite our shaky
start, when we were still recovering from the shock of being assigned to DFC instead of
The Future is Wild, which was what we wanted to research on and the reluctance to
work on DFC. We soon adapted to it and came up with this idea of recycling plastic
bags.
We can improve on our project by improving on the design of the newspaper bags. We
surveyed the students which used the newspaper bags, and some of them felt that
there were no handles, thus making it difficult to hold the newspaper bag, especially if it
is very heavy. Others felt that the newspaper bags were not strong enough and is torn
easily if the contents are heavy. Thus from the feedback, we can improve on our
newspaper bags by adding more layers to it and adding newspaper handles.We learned
many things from this project. Firstly, we learnt more about the different limited
resources on Earth, such as crude oil, which is used to make plastic products such as
plastics bags. We were also informed of the disadvantages to us humans once this
resource runs out. Secondly, we learnt of the ways to recycle these limited resources,
such as replacing plastic bags with newspaper bags. These 2 aspects allow us to
present a strong argument for humans to recycle plastic bags.
In conclusion, this project was a very meaningful one for us. It helps us to find our
strengths and weaknesses, so that we can continue our good points and improve on our
bad points. It also helps us to learn more about the Earth and especially its resources,
and teaches us how to recycle them.
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18. Acknowledgements:
Our teacher mentor: Mrs Ramesh
Mrs Cheryl Yap for giving us support and motivation
Ms Erica Tan (Manager of Popular) for allowing us distribute our bags.
Popular staffs for helping us introduce our product to customers.
Family and friends who supported us and gave us feedback.
Everyone else who have helped us in one way or another.
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19. Appendix (Survey)
DFC Say No To Plastic Bags Survey
Please answer the following questions truthfully.
Q1) Would you use newspaper bags instead of plastic bags? Yes/No
Q2) Do you recycle proactively? Yes/No
Q3) Do you think that the quality of the newspaper bags are good? Yes/No
(If Yes, skip Q4)
Q4) Please specify the areas in which the newspaper bags need
improvement on.
___________________________________________________________
Q5) What is your opinion of using plastic bags/newspaper bags?
____________________________________________________________
Q6) Will you ask for plastic bags even if you are purchasing small items
such as pens?
____________________________________________________________
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20. Appendix (Results)
Question 1: Would you use newspaper bags instead of plastic bags?
Q1, NO,
11, 37%
Q1, YES, YES
19, 63% NO
This shows that many of our respondents are willing to use newspaper bags instead of plastic
bags if they are available, which also shows that most of them do not normally use
environmentally friendly bags because they are not available for free at most shops. Hence, if
we were to expand our project, we will know that most students will be supportive of our
newspaper bags, increasing feasibility. Of this project
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21. Question 2: Do you recycle proactively?
Q2, YES,
8, 27%
YES
Q2, NO, NO
22, 73%
Most of our respondents do not recycle proactively, yet most of them claimed that they will use
our newspaper bags. This shows that our campaign had been successful in influencing the
community in the sense that we have been able to change the majority of their mindsets and
their views on recycling.
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22. Question 3: Do you think that the quality of the newspaper bags is good?
Q3, YES,
10, 33%
Q3, NO,
20, 67% YES
NO
Customers have given us valuable advice on how to improve our bags:
Make a handle.
Make them waterproof
Make them more durable
Make more bags of different sizes
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23. Q5) What is your opinion of using plastic bags/newspaper bags?
This question was to find out whether our campaign was successful and what their
thoughts toward our cause are.
Some common answers include:
1) Good motivation and effort
2) Needs to find more alternative materials
3) Hands may be dirty after touching newspaper bags.
4) Good environmentally friendly effort
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24. Q6) Will you ask for plastic bags even if you are purchasing small items
such as pens?
Q6, YES,
3, 10%
Q6, NO, YES
NO
27, 90%
This question narrows down our range of bag sizes. According to this pie chart, the vast majority
of students do not need a plastic bag for small items. Hence, we can be more efficient by cutting
down on the amount of small newspaper bags made.
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