Shoppers still using plastic bags on day 1 of mandatory disposable carrier bag charge cite convenience, habit

“It is inconvenient to have to bring a lot of bags. If you don’t have enough bags, then you cannot buy as many things or else you will have to pay for plastic bags,” Mr Ang said. 

At Sheng Siong supermarket in Khatib, staff were heard informing customers about the plastic bag charge at checkout counters. 

One customer who decided to pay and said he will continue to pay for plastic bags is Mr John Sin, a retiree who uses a personal mobility device to get around. 

“To me, plastic bags are a must. For a person like me, without plastic bags, how would I hold my things? It’s not possible,” he told CNA in Mandarin. 

Mr Sin, 70, was seen placing two plastic bags into the rear basket of his device. Asked why he did not bring a reusable bag, Mr Sin gestured at his walking cane. 

“You need to bring it out and back. Now when I walk I have to use my cane, it’s not convenient. I have no choice but to spend 10 cents or 20 cents now,” he added. 

He thinks the charge is still an affordable expense. “Now things are expensive anyway, that 10 cents or 20 cents more, so what? When you take away food it’s 30 cents already anyway.”

Another customer, who wanted to be known as Mr Augustine, carried a reusable bag on one arm and a plastic bag on another. The 67-year-old said he had not brought enough reusable bags and did not want to squeeze everything together for fear they became “congested”. 

“I like to bring what I buy back home in good condition,” he said. The retiree said he would reuse the plastic bag on his next grocery trip.

At the NTUC FairPrice outlet at Khatib, the sole employee managing a handful of self-checkout counters was observed holding onto plastic bags and only handing them out to those who asked for them.