Johor plastic bag ban set for 2018
PLEDGE: State will also not allow polystyrene packaging, saysexcoman
THE Johor government has reiterated its commitment to impose a total ban on polystyrene packaging and plastic bags in the state.
It has set a timeframe for the implementation to take place by January 2018.
State Health and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said the deadline was feasible considering retailers and businesses were given time to “ease into” the policy.
He said supermarkets would be encouraged to start switching from plastic bags to paper, or other biodegradable bags, six months before the total ban.
“At the moment, (the Federal Government) imposes a No Plastic Bag day on Saturdays in which shoppers are encouraged to bring their own bags, and anyone who insists on using plastic bags is charged 20 sen per piece.
“For Johor, this policy will be expanded in June whereby supermarkets are encouraged to replace plastic bags and polystyrene packets with paper bags or other biodegradable alternatives.
“This will lead to the state government fully implementing the ban by January 2018,” Ayub said here yesterday.
He said a state government-initiated roadmap on eliminating polystyrene and plastic bags was being drafted by Johor Biotechnology and Biodiversity Corporation (JBiotech), and would be unveiled in July.
It would look into policies to encourage the production of more biodegradable food packaging, and to help traders get access to these “green” types of packaging at cheaper costs.
“The lack of demand for paperfood packaging means there is a very small amount of paper-food packaging in the market.
“Things that are scarce will cost more.
“A polystyrene container costs between 5 sen to 10 sen, but its biodegradable version costs between 35 sen or 36 sen.
“We want traders to have to incur 5 sen to 10 sen more cost when they switch to biodegradable packaging, as the amount is reasonable in our quest to preserve the environment.”
He said that a policy would be in place to ensure no additional costs were passed on to consumers.
Ayub said plans were underway to rope in state-linked companies, such as the Iskandar Malaysia Cooperative (IMCoop) chain of fairprice shops and PIJ Holdings, to become distributors of biodegradable packaging.
He said the ban was needed as out of the 1,800 tonnes of rubbish produced in Johor a day, 360 tonnes comprised plastics and polystyrene.
“Of the 160 tonnes of rubbish collected from Sungai Skudai in Johor Baru, which is one of the most polluted in the state, 80 per cent are plastics and polystyrene.
“It takes 500 years for polystyrene to decompose.
“This affects the ecosystem of rivers and water-treatment plants.”
Ayub said the state would not rely on compounds to compel people to use biodegradable packaging, but instead, educate the public and businesses through campaigns to be conducted by local councils.
He denied a claim by PKR’s Bukit Batu assemblyman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse that the Johor government had backed down on its pledge to ban polystyrene and plastic bags.
“Johor’s pledge was to impose a ban on polystyrene and plastic bags two years from this year, and we are honouring it with its implementation in 2018.”