Rebate2Earth

"The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard."

-- Gaylord Nelson Former governor of Wisconsin, co-founder of Earth Day --


Starting from February 4th 2008, plastic carriers taken from NUS CO-OP will be charged at 10 cents, proceeds will go to the Rebate2Earth Funds under NUSSU SAVE for future environmental projects. By this initiative, we hope to reduce plastic bag usage in NUS CO-OP by 50%.

Rebate2Earth is part of the major effort undertaken by NUSSAVE for our latest project, Living with Gaia. Our main concern under Rebate2Earth would be the excessive and often unnecessary use of plastic bags in the form of carriers. The uncontrolled issuance of such carrier bags by stall vendors and also the irresponsible one-time usage of these bags by consumers show that these plastic carriers do not 'carry' much worth. The use of plastic bags has a lot of externalities which is the cost that neither the supplier nor consumer pays for. Hundreds of thousands of marine animals die each year from eating discarded plastic bags; it also diminishes landfill space and causing air pollution if incinerated. Thus, as the name suggest, Rebate2Earth serves as a reminder for us to give a rebate (10c) to the environment whenever we use a plastic bag.

The concern here is not to raise more funds for the environment but to inculcate a culture where people will start using reusable bags, reuse plastic bags or simply not to use any. With an increased awareness and perhaps the cultivation of a new habit, our ultimate aim would be to empower the NUS community in doing their part for the sustainability of the Earth.

Implementation Details
  1. With the implementation of Rebate2Earth in NUS, consumers have to pay an additional $0.10 whenever they require a plastic bag. This will be in effect across Co-op stores and certain convenience stores with the Rebate2Earth poster at the stall front.
  2. All the money will be collected in a coin box at check out. The proceeds will go to the Rebate2Earth Funds for future environmental projects. Any projects that use this fund will declare that it is funded by Rebate2Earth funds.
  3. The funds will be collected from the stores on a monthly basis, so the actual number of plastic bags used can be monitored. Current consumption in CO-OP is 40 000 per month.
  4. There will be more partners/stores involved in this project in the near future. It will be updated on our website, and a poster will be displayed at the storefront when they are involved.
  5. The charge will not be imposed in the canteen at the moment, but there will be permanent posters at the canteen to raise the awareness of reducing plastics.
  6. Constructive feedbacks can be emailed to rebate2earth@gmail.com