Give eco-shoppers the green-carpet treatment

Give eco-shoppers the green-carpet treatment
Letter from Barbara Tan 04:46 AM May 13, 2011
FOR a long time I have wondered if there is a better way to encourage people to take their own shopping bags to supermarkets.

The current practice at NTUC FairPrice is to give such shoppers a 10-cent refund on their grocery bills but this is hardly an incentive as the value of 10 cents these days is negligible. I doubt that another alternative - charging customers for every plastic bag used - would go down well with the public.
So why not introduce a green checkout counter - one that could be literally green in colour.
Such counters would serve all customers but those who take their own bags or who choose not to use a plastic bag for a single-item purchase, would be served first.
Supermarkets can introduce one green counter for a start and gradually add more, if the idea works. I for one would welcome getting the "green- carpet treatment" for using my own bags.
What about large families that have to buy multiple trolley-loads of food? They can play their part by loading their paid-for groceries back into their trolleys, pushing the trolleys to their cars where they can transfer the goods into large plastic storage boxes (with covers, handles and wheels).
These boxes would protect their purchases from sliding about inside the boot and would be easy to transfer from the car to the home.
It may take a little more time to load and unload the trolleys but it would all be for a good cause.
http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC110513-0000271/Give-eco-shoppers-the-green-carpet-treatment
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26May2011: [TODAY] Spurring on eco-shoppers