Bitstop Network Services, Inc.

Ang ganda na siguro ng Dagupan ngayon.

si little mayor talaga o!

hmm... So is this one of the new strokes as jueteng earnings tapered down?

Fishy Dagupan... hey.. any reaction from the Mayor as everybody knows what's happening in that city now?

Most people are now saying... "gusto lang nang lagay niyan..."
There's no real intent of having a healthy environment as we heard that the guy himself will probably soon die of lung cancer! Check him out!

Poor city... tsk tsk tsk... too much politics!

Now this is business sabotage...in your (nic aquino and all politicians who voted for this ordinance) desire to blame plastic and styrofoam in our environmental problems, you failed to see its effect to our economy (local)...

The small businessmen who sells these plastics & styrofoams, who prints these platsics & styrofoams, and those who sells their products in plastics and styrofoams will surely feel the ill-effect of this ordinance...these are the people who are striving to earn a decent income and trying to live each day sufficiently as tehy can....These are those people who sell these plastic cups, spoons, forks, styroplates, styroboxes in the market....These are the people who are selling you their diremen, ginataan, kakanin in plastic cups with plastic spoon....These are the people who are selling slippers, vegetables, fruits, worn t-shirt, etc in a plastic bag.....These, Mr. Nic Aquino and company, are the people who can earn P 0.50 becuase they had these plastics and styrofoams taht you authored to ban....

It's good you finally wanted a clean air and beautiful surroundings....we all deserved it...but then what good does having a clean and green environment if most of us are hungry and cannot earn a living through the means we know?

Calling all the people leading Dagupan...please have a heart on these small businessmen....It's not right to do your pa-cute and pa-porma in their expense...you can do better than bully these small businessman....can't you see the "economic repercussion" it might cause the City? Or maybe you can't see it because the people affected are not that big as those businessmen who can established an empire of schools or those who can put up a call center with just call to their banks....

Why dont you use the incinerator you bought with the people's money a few years back? Can't it solve the garbage problem? then why buy it in the first place?

How about the Awai landfill? Why not use it? My hard earned peso was paid for that....

Stop bullying us....Stop hurting Dagupan...Stop authoring ordinances that is advantageous to the few....Stop making pa-cute and pa-gwapo in your public offices....

Hey C1! You said that "What good does having a clean and green environment if most of us are hungry and cannot earn a living through the means we know?".

Now I ask you, what good does having a full stomach bring you if you live in a polluted world that's about to die because of the effects of your products???

Remember that you share this earth with a lot of people who deserve to have a clean and sustainable planet. If you keep thinking about you're own business and if you keep putting it over the good of all, then shame on you!

And besides, if you're really that good of a businessperson, then you should be wise enough to think of alternative products that won't hurt our environment. I wonder where you learned to do business. You should be able to adapt. That's the game.

And to the small businessmen who sell stuffs in plastics and styrofoams, I'm sure there are alternatives. Why not encourage the consumers to bring their own baso from inside the house when they buy taho? Sure, it's impossible to completely eliminate the use of plastics, but to lessen this use is very, very helpful to the planet.

This is why our country remains stagnant. Once a good ordinance is put into execution, people, (yes, we citizens!) taint it with politics! Given that we do not exactly have the best political conditions in the Philippines, we should also learn to appreciate an ordinance geared towards a perfect.

This ordinance is not to advantageous the few... it's to benefit the earth, INCLUDING YOU! You're grievance is the one gearing towards a few selfish intentions. Think first, if you may, of the LONG-TERM good of the many, including your children.

Ditch Styrofoam

Joe F., Milford, CT

By Katie C., Boardman, OH

What would you do if you realized that by drinking from a Styrofoam cup, you are contributing to the demise of the environment and endangering wildlife and humans alike? Most people do not consider the effects that Styrofoam, or polystyrene, can have because of its widespread availability. Not using Styrofoam products, however, would improve the health of the world. Restaurants in particular should use something else for plates, cups and take-out packaging since it is actually dangerous.

One reason restaurants should stop using Styrofoam is that it is not the most economical or health-conscious option. Paper could be used instead and is usually less expensive. It is also biodegradable, making it more environmentally friendly.

Styrofoam contains chemicals that over time and continuous exposure (even in small amounts) can build up in the body and cause many health issues. One U.S. EPA study of human fat biopsies found styrene residues in every single sample. Styrene is easily transferred from a container to your food or beverage. And the hotter or fattier the food, the more styrene it absorbs. This includes not only your doggie bag contents but meat on foam trays at grocery stores. It can disrupt hormone functions and cause low platelet counts, chromosome and lymphatic abnormalities, and create neurotoxic effects, which can lead to fatigue, insomnia and other diseases associated with the nervous system. It is even more dangerous for pregnant women because of the effects on the unborn.

Styrofoam is also not very sturdy. It easily breaks into small pieces that small children can choke on. Paper cups are a much better choice.

Styrofoam products are not biodegradable and contribute to landfill pile-ups because it never deteriorates. It also adds to the problem of where to put excess waste products. Waste may eventually have to be dumped into the ocean, which could contaminate the water.

Styrofoam also prevents more efficient recycling and better use of resources because it can only be thrown away (though many items could be reused) and must be produced continuously to meet demands, which uses nonrenewable energy and costs more. Paper can be recycled and is biode-gradable.

A third reason restaurants should use paper is that Styrofoam can be dangerous to wildlife. Animals can wander

into a landfill and try to eat it, which could result in them choking or becoming sick, thus reducing their populations. Animals can also be affected if more space is needed for landfills and their habitats need to be destroyed which could force them into residential areas. This is especially dangerous for humans, who can get diseases carried by the animals (including Lyme disease) and have car accidents because of animals running into the road.

Although there are many substantial reasons why restaurants should use paper products instead of Styrofoam, some still believe it is the best option. It does protect hands from the extreme heat or cold, but to compensate for lack of insulation in paper, cardboard protectors can be used. Styrofoam may at first seem like a better option, but paper is actually a much smarter choice.

Restaurants, if they must use disposable items, should consider changing from Styrofoam to paper. Styrofoam is damaging to the environment, wildlife, and the health of humans. The fact that it is not biodegradable and has harmful chemicals should convince people of its hazards. Paper is both biodegradable and safer for the environment, wildlife, and humans, and would be much better than Styrofoam.

Hi GP,

Before anything else, there is this study about the comparison of using styro and paper. If you have the time, it is one good learning for all of us. As technology improves, we humans find ways to improve life as well as the environment. Many of us don't really know some facts like styro today don't contain CFC but as far as I can remember, in school they taught us it contains CFC. Here is the link: http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/sec_pfpg.asp?CID=1439&DID=5231

There is a thesis study there (pdf file) that they made to prove styro uses less energy compare to paper. It is a very long article but it's quite good these things today. We should be updated about how things really are in the present.

Everybody cares...

but there are articles I have read that states that it is more efficient to use than papers because in making paper we consume more energy than when me make plastics??

There is a recycling method: Kryo- recycling. There is no need, to put valuable materials into an incinerator or a landfill:
www.buendnis-zukunft.de/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=174