NUS professor suggests raising plastic bag prices at supermarkets to S$0.10 to cut down wastage

An associate professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has suggested raising the price of single-use bags at supermarkets to 10 cents to cut down wastage, given that their usage in Singapore has not reduced by much.

Since Jul. 3, 2023, the National Environment Agency (NEA) required all major supermarket operators to charge at least S$0.05 for each disposable carrier bag provided at their outlets.

In 2024, shoppers bought more than 119 million plastic bags at FairPrice, Sheng Siong, and Cold Storage supermarkets, according to 8world.

This number is about twice the total reported by the same three supermarkets for the second half of 2023, after the plastic bag charge policies took effect.

"The rate of plastic bag usage basically remained about the same or increased slightly," Raymond Ong, a professor who is also deputy head of research at NUS's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, told 8world.

"After the Covid-19 pandemic, our economy has been constantly growing. If the country's spending increases, logically, the use of plastic will also increase," Ong added.

Based on his team's research, however, it should drop if supermarkets raise the plastic bag charge to S$0.10.

Ong also suggested introducing incentives, such as a rewards programme for people who bring disposable bags to gain points and win prizes.

Plastic bag use in 2024

Although plastic bag use in supermarkets decreased by at least half compared to before the charge was implemented, it has slightly picked up in 2024.

Throughout 2024, shoppers bought over 67.9 million plastic bags at FairPrice supermarkets, over 31.2 million at Sheng Siong supermarkets, and over 20 million at Cold Storage and Giant supermarkets.

The numbers were more than twice that over the second half of 2023 at FairPrice and Sheng Siong, which provided around 33.6 million and 15.2 million respectively during that period.

As for Cold Storage and Giant, the rate was about the same, as they provided about 10 million plastic bags over the second half of 2023.

In 2024, shoppers paid over S$3.39 million in plastic bag fees at FairPrice supermarkets, and over S$1.56 million at Sheng Siong.

Depends on convenience

When 8world visited some supermarkets on a Sunday morning, they noticed about 70 per cent of the shoppers bringing their own reusable bags.

One said they would bring many reusable bags, including an insulated bag, for the double benefit of saving money and the environment.

Another shopper explained that they would sometimes bring their own bags, but buy bags when it is not very convenient.

However, they would make sure to reuse these bags afterwards, this shopper added.

There was also someone who felt that bringing their own bags allows for flexibility — they could bring different sizes of bags, and fill many items in one.

Top images from Mothership and Sheng Siong's website