A complete ‘no’ to plastic bags by Jan 1, 2018

SIBU: Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) will fully implement the ‘Say No To Plastic Bags 2.0’ campaign in January 2018, said its deputy chairperson Rogayah Jamain.

She added that during the trial period starting this Oct 1, the council will increase the number of days businesses will not provide plastic bags to shoppers.

At present, the public are required to bring their own bags on Saturdays and Mondays when no plastic bags are provided.

“StartingOctober,itismandatory for all retail stores and enterprises here to replace plastic bags with biodegradable bags or offer empty boxes to customers,” Rogayah told The Borneo Post yesterday.

She said there was a need to reduce the usage of plastic bags as they are not environment-friendly as they take 500 to 1,000 years to decompose.

Asked the number of days to be increased during the trial period from the present two days of nonusage of plastic bags, she said the matter will be discussed in the next standing committee meeting.

Rogayah said SMC will roll out more campaigns to raise awareness among the public to bring their own bags when shopping.

Sibu Rural District Council ( SRDC) chairman Councillor Sempurai Petrus Ngelai said they would be following SMC’s footstep to ban the use of plastic bags.

This was in accordance with the directive from the Ministry of Local Government and Housing.

Based on a 2010 survey among major towns in Sarawak, the composition of waste was food perishables (35 per cent), paper (19 per cent), soft plastic (11 per cent), hard plastic (five per cent), garden waste (five per cent), nappies (five per cent), glass (three per cent), wood (two per cent) and the rest being metal and construction waste.

When chairing the full council meeting on Wednesday, SMC chairman Datuk Tiong Thai King said the council would launch the ‘Say No To Plastic Bags 2.0’ campaign in October.

According to Tiong, all retail stores and enterprises shall replace plastic bags with biodegradable bags or paper boxes, while the public are encouraged bring their own bags when shopping.

He said it was non-environmental friendly as over- consumption of plastic was contributing to climate change, river pollution, and the bags causing litter referred to as ‘white pollution’ is a major issue in today’s world.

Assistant Minister of Local Government Datu Dr Penguang Manggil lauded SMC as a leading example of good environmental stewardship for being the first council in the state to totally ban the use of plastic bags.