Philippines 3rd largest contributor to ocean plastic is the headline in a PhilStar news. With the recent storms coming into the country, we have seen Manila bay flood Roxas boulevard, giving back the trash we throw into its waters, covering the road with trash in aftermath - with plastic garbage. Flooding has become such a norm because drainages are clogged with trash - mostly plastic.

And yet, when I go to the grocery store bringing my plastic container with me to ask the meat section to pack my purchased meat in it, a few times already I have been told "bawal po yan." Which does not make sense, if they put the meat in the plastic container and put it on the weighing scale - I'm fine with that. I don't imagine that a used Selecta Ice Cream plastic container weighs much anyway. And both times I had to explain to them that my only intention is to avoid my meat being placed in plastic, not one, but two of those thin transparent plastic bags just for me to bring it home, take my meat out of the plastics to put in containers anyway before I put them in the fridge. Their use lasted just an hour from the grocery store to my kitchen. And this is for each meat bought - so if a person buys pork = 2 plastic bags, beef = 2 plastics, chicken = 2 plastics - that's 6 plastic bags that immediately go to the trash. And if this is the case for every person who buys meat from SM Grocery or Landmark Grocery - just think, how much plastic bag trash is accumulated everyday? And how much we can save from going to the landfill and oceans if we put our meat in re-usable plastic containers?

Other progressive countries in Europe and many others around the world have started encouraging customers to come in with re-usable bottles and plastic containers to put their purchased items in. I hope we can have these big grocery stores educate their staff - such as those behind the meat counter and to ALLOW them to put meat in a customers plastic container instead of putting them in plastic bags. I cannot imagine that their management has made it "bawal". Because if they did, then these malls - SM and Ayala are hypocrites what with their recycling drive and yet they have advised their staff to disallow re-usable plastic containers to put purchased meat in?

If these malls would actually encourage their buyers of meat to bring their re-usable plastic containers to put meat in, I believe it will be such a positive impact to the environment. Every but helps in reducing waste, especially plastic waste.

Let's call for signs in SM Grocery stores and Landmark Grocery stores meat sections saying "we encourage our customers to bring re-usable plastic containers to put purchased meat in" and that their staff encourage it too and for us to make it a habit to bring our re-usable plastic containers and bags.