THERE?S NOTHING FANTAStic about plastic, environmental groups said Saturday on the occasion of International Plastic Bags Free Day.

In a statement, EcoWaste Coalition and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (Gaia) called on Filipino consumers to reduce their use of plastic bags when shopping for groceries and other items.

?Plastic bags symbolize our penchant for convenient and disposable stuff as we recklessly embrace a throw-away culture. We ask consumers to rethink their addiction to plastic bags and put an end to the ecological misery caused by wasteful consumption,? said Gigie Cruz of Gaia, one of the organizers of the 2010 International Plastic Bags Free Day.

Wearing plastic bags over their heads, members of the two groups visited Commonwealth Market in Quezon City Saturday to talk to customers and try to dissuade them from using plastic bags.

They also carried signs declaring ?Plastik: Hindi Walastik!? ?Walastik? is Filipino slang meaning ?fantastic.?

?By cutting our use of plastic bags and other non-environmentally sound packaging, we significantly reduce our waste generation and lessen associated ecological hazards such as climate and marine pollution from happening,? Cruz said.

Sonia Mendoza of Mother Earth Foundation and EcoWaste Coalition?s Task Force on Plastic lamented that data on the per capita consumption and disposal of plastic bags was not available.

?But there is no lack of evidence of plastic bags ending up littering streets, parks, dumps, rivers, seas and even the sky. We really need to end our love affair with plastic bags and opt for reusables,? Mendoza said.

Instead of plastic bags, the groups advocated the use of reusable bags. They said stores should introduce reusable bags made of recycled and locally sourced materials.

Stores should also encourage consumers to bring their own bags by providing incentives like rebates and price cuts.

The government should ban single-use plastic bags and compel manufacturers to either bear the cost of the pollution caused by plastic or institute environmentally sound practices to recover used plastic bags and packaging materials.

The green groups reminded President Benigno Aquino III of his declared support for a ban on single-use plastic bags and other plastic-based disposable containers in a pre-election survey conducted by EcoWaste Coalition and Greenpeace.

?Over the longer term we must have greater use of biodegradable materials for packaging and containers, and have a sound plan for recovery and recycling of plastics,? then presidential candidate Aquino had said.

Data from Ocean Conservancy?s 2010 annual report entitled ?Trash Travels? showed that plastic bags ranked first as the most littered item in Philippine seas, the groups said.