Once when I was in New Zealand, I asked for a plastic bag after paying for groceries and was told to use one of the boxes stacked at the front of the store as it did not give customers plastic bags.

It was my first encounter with how New Zealand conserves and recycles resources, and this was way back in the 1980s. Only large grocery stores had plastic or reusable bags, and those were strictly for sale.

In another incident, a friend went fishing and was instructed to throw a small fish he had caught back into the ocean, to his disappointment. New Zealand fishermen know this is for the greater good - as the small fish would grow and multiply - and keep only large fish for sale.

Many stores in New Zealand sell second-hand goods, and I bought many for my children, as well as some good-as-new woollen clothes for myself.

I believe the following suggestions can help in recycling and conservation efforts here:

• Stores should keep a stack of empty cardboard boxes for Singaporeans to take their purchases home in, and limit each customer to one plastic bag for wet goods.

• Singaporeans going to the market should carry baskets (made of plastic or rattan) as they used to do in the past, or they can carry reusable bags.

• Old towels and faded T-shirts can be used to clean surfaces. They can be washed and reused.

• We should always try to repair electrical appliances before buying new ones.

With some thought and a little creative thinking, there are many other ways to recycle goods, instead of just throwing them away.

Singaporeans just need to change the mindset of needing to be the first to get the latest models, and realise that second-hand goods, when washed and cleaned thoroughly, are as good as new.

Patricia Maria de Souza