It is commendable for companies to offer incentives to consumers to wean them off their reliance on plastic bags.

However, the issue has never been about plastic bags versus reusable bags; it is about how households can dispose of their waste properly.

Many people use plastic bags to bag their rubbish.

Mr Eugene Tay, executive director of non-governmental organisation Zero Waste Singapore, has suggested that households use the plastic packaging that comes with food products such as bread instead (Discounts and freebies to wean consumers off plastic; Sept 1).

I would like to do this, but there is no way the packaging from a loaf of bread can contain the waste generated by a household of five adults and one diaper-wearing toddler.

I could just dump all the waste down the rubbish chute - without using plastic bags at all. This would save the environment but it would not be civic-minded.

Most Singaporeans live in public housing and do not have the resources or space to compost our waste.

The key to solving this issue of the prevalent use of plastic bags would be to come up with innovative solutions to help HDB dwellers dispose of their waste properly.

Tan Tock Leng