Amid all the noise generated by people who all wanted to contribute their two cents’ on the killing of a Dumaguete-based lawyer, it might not come as a surprise that many missed an important development with lasting effects for our community.
Last week, the Dumaguete City Council passed on third and final reading an Ordinance that would regulate the use of plastics in the City.
This won’t take effect right away. In fact, its implementation date is February 2012 but what is important is that the Council has taken the first step in the direction of a plastic-free society. We all know too well the present problems of having clogged waterways because of the indiscriminate disposal of plastic containers, wrappers, bags and styrofoam.
Starting February, expect to see the fish you by from the public market wrapped in old newspapers or banana leaves. And because we’ll no longer have those plastic bags, people will have to bring their own shopping bags. By then, you also won’t be able to buy food wrapped in styrofoam boxes, even for take-out meals.
Dumaguete is fast joining the ranks of environment-friendly cities and towns. We already have a law banning smoking in public places, we have a law mandating the segregation of garbage (although its implementation may be another thing altogether), we have a law on treating our wastewater. We look forward to having pedestrian and bicycle-friendly streets in the very near future.