SMC to implement ‘No Plastic Bags’ next year — Tiong

SIBU: Business premises here will no longer provide customers with free plastic bags in a move by Sibu Municipal Council ( SMC) to implement the ‘Say No To Plastic Bags’ drive next year.

In disc losing this, SMC chairman Datuk Tiong Thai King, however, clarified that the move was voluntary as business operators could charge shoppers if they insisted on plastic bags. He said currently, plastic bags are not provided on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.

“The three-month trial implementation of the ‘ Say No To Plastic Bags 2.0’ campaign started in October this year, where three days are designated as no plastic days. From January 2018 onwards, SMC will fully implement the campaign, and there will be no plastic bags provided throughout the week.

“In this regard, we appeal to all business operators here to give full cooperation to the campaign to help preserve and conserve the environment. To consumers, we advise them to bring their own shopping bags instead of buying plastic bags,” he told reporters after officiating at the Christmas Price Control Scheme 2017 in Kim Hock Supermarket, Sibu Jaya yesterday.

Also present were Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism ( MDTCC) Sibu branch assistant enforcement officers Ba hamil Aizul Baharuddin and Norhakimin Ismail, acting District officer Zulkarnain Ismail and Kim Hock Supermarket owner Kong Hua Ming. Asked if SMC would make the green initiative compulsory, Tiong said the council has no such plan yet.

During a recent SMC full council meeting, Tiong had urged all retailers to replace the normal plastic bags with bio- degradable bags or paper boxes.

For the record, based on a 2010 survey among major towns in Sarawak, it was found that plastics comprised 16 per cent of household wastes. The others are food perishables ( 35 per cent), paper (19 per cent), garden waste ( 5 per cent), nappies ( 5 per cent), glass ( 3 per cent), wood ( 2 per cent) and the rest being metal and construction waste.

Tiong was pleased that retailers and the public had responded posit ively to the campaign during the trial period. Hence, to get the message across to those customers who are adamant on using plastic bags, he suggested that operators levy some charges like 20 sen per plastic bag.

“The intention here is to get the public to reduce the use of plastic bags by bringing their own bags when shopping. Plastic bags take a long time to decompose and pollute the environment. Charging shoppers for plastic bags wil l remind them the importance of the campaign,” he added.