Dear Madam/Sir,
I refer to “Scheme saves 5 to 6 million plastic bags a year” (Oct 31).
As an ardent supporter of the Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) programme, I want to applaud NTUC FairPrice for implementing the Green Rewards Scheme.
It is the only existing scheme by supermarkets in Singapore that provides incentives to customers to use their own shopping bags.
I hope a similar scheme can be adopted by all retailers nationwide.
In light of this dream, I would like to suggest the implementation of an Enhanced BYOB Programme to all retailers for their consideration:
- FairPrice’s current practice is to provide a flat fee rebate i.e. S$0.10 off the total price of groceries for customers who bring their own bags and spend $10 or more.
Retailers should consider a percentage pricing rebate instead i.e. 1% off the total price of groceries for customers who bring their own bags and spend $10 or more.
This is because the amount spent on groceries and the number of bags used will generally rise in the same proportion.
For example, if I were to spend S$39.90 on groceries, I would receive a S$0.40 rebate if I brought my own shopping bags.
- If retailers were to adopt the above suggestion, they can offset any potential financial losses by concurrently implementing the converse i.e. a 1% grocery bill levy on consumers who use plastic bags.
This will also provide a further incentive for consumers to use their own shopping bags; most consumers will baulk at the thought of subsidising another person’s grocery shopping.
- Once we reach a stage where shopping bag usage is more popular than plastic bag usage, we can then revert to the S$0.10 token flat fee rebate.
This is to continue to reward consumers who use shopping bags.
However, the 1% grocery bill levy on consumers who use plastic bags must be maintained concurrently in order to sustain the disincentive for consumers to be environmentally unfriendly.Plastic manufacturers need not be unduly concerned – consumers will still need to purchase plastic bags as bin liners.
Consumers also need not be unduly concerned – we can use the rebates from supermarkets to purchase our bin liners. This will allow us to appreciate the true cost of our activities on the environment.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Laremy LEE (Mr)
(Published as “A 1% Bring Your Own Bag rebate, instead of 10 cents?” on 5 Nov 2012 in TODAY.)
(Definition of ORD LOH, in case you need it.)
Yesterday was the last day of my four-week long Project Work relief teaching stint back at St Andrew’s Junior College.
(I forgot to announce this, among other things I was remiss in announcing; I vaguely remember there was a flurry of activity at some point in late Sep/early Oct – and then I had to go back to school.
So there were many people who were quite surprised at my sudden reappearance – sorry about that.
Also, my stint was initially supposed to be from Tue, 9 Oct to Fri, 19 Oct in order to replace a couple of male teachers who had to return to their respective camps to serve the nation.
However, the Head of Department asked me toward the end of my initial stint if I were able to extend my stint up to Fri, 2 Nov in order to augment the teaching/provision of feedback.
So there were, again, many other people who were quite surprised to see me around for so long – sorry about that once more, but you won’t see me again come Monday!
Anyway.)
Leaving and returning for a while has helped me realise a couple of things:
- I’m a good teacher.
Sorry if this sounds crass, but I need to do this. Let me explain.
I never thought I was a good teacher for most of my (relatively short) career.
I felt I was way out of my league much of the time because I felt I didn’t have adequate content knowledge or pedagogical skills.
And because I beat myself up a lot – though I’m learning not to do that now – I had a very poor sense of self-worth over the last few years, which reinforced my own impression of myself as a bad teacher.
But returning to the classroom this time felt different: I really felt good when I was in the classroom because I knew the relevant advice to give and how to provide it well.
And because I could see marked improvements in the students almost immediately most of the time, it felt like I was genuinely making a difference to their lives.
So this time, I’m proud to announce, with no shame whatsoever (and that’s not because I have no sense of shame): I’m awesome, and I’m happy to be awesome.
- I love teaching.
There is nothing more exciting than being part of an ‘aha moment’, especially when it’s an aha moment that will be one of the defining features of a human being’s life.
- But I don’t think I can teach in the Singapore education system in a sustained manner at this stage of my life.
It may or may not be the system – I don’t know and that’s not the point.
The point is: education, to use a cliched phrase – which is in itself a cliched phrase (haha) – is a noble profession; you must always give more of your time, your energy and your self than you are willing and able to.
But for someone who is too young to be so noble, and too noble to be giving so much of himself away at the expense of losing himself entirely, it’s best that I take a break now – while I still can.
So here’s to flexible schedules, creating, being creative and being my own boss again for the next six months.
Let’s go.
But let’s play some DotA first.