Article: Big, blue and green

Sunday June 7, 2009

By RENITA CHE WAN

Ikea Malaysia does its bit for Mother Earth with a green-themed bag.

IN conjunction with World Environment Day that falls on June 5 every year, Ikea Malaysia is doing its part by cutting down on the number of plastic bags used.

Customers will also now be charged a minimum price of 10 sen for a small plastic bag or 20 sen for a medium-sized plastic bag.

This serves as a gentle reminder that the usage of plastic bags come with a cost, and customers are encouraged to stop using them completely.

"We want to encourage customers to use their own reusable bags from now on. From the study that we've conducted, plastic waste is one of the highest contributor to environmental damage," said marketing communications manager Yap Poh Choo.

In lieu of plastic bags, customers who need a bag are encouraged to get Ikea's signature Big Blue Bag for only RM1.90 (usual price RM3.90).

The blue bag is made of plastic and has been sent for several tests to ascertain that it is durable, strong and big enough to store all your shopping needs.

All proceeds from the purchase of the plastic bags will be donated to the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).

With the proceeds, Ikea, in collaboration with MNS, will plant and maintain mangrove trees at the mangrove forest in Kuala Selangor Nature Park to counterbalance carbon dioxide emissions.

"This programme is in line with our Global Sustainability Direction; that the Ikea business shall have an overall positive impact on the people and the environment," said social and environment manager Chong Hock Ben.

Executive director of MNS Dr Loh Chi Leong said mangrove trees absorb and store carbon dioxide effectively.

"Mangroves have a tremendous social and ecological value but the present rate of global warming threatens the survival of entire ecosystems. Among the most at-risk ecosystems are mangroves, which are especially vulnerable to sea-level rise," he said.

"We realise that our Ikea 'Love The Earth' programme is a small step but we have to start somewhere, don't we? We plan to keep this project going permanently and hopefully the people will be more aware of this problem and will start reducing the use of plastic bags," said Chong.

In the last two years, Ikea Malaysia produced 3.2 million plastic bags and just last year it escalated to 3.4 million.

With the "green" campaign in mind, Ikea hopes to reduce the number of plastic bags by at least 50% from the current figure.

"We strongly hope that the public will support our campaign and start reducing the use of plastic bags. Just recently, we found out that there were at least 100 million plastic waste in the Klang River alone when we cleaned it up. Isn't this a good enough reason to change our habit?" said Chong.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: metro: North 7 June 2009