Hypermarket owner says he supports suggestion by Selangor BN to not charge for plastic bags, but wants consumers to be given environment-friendly bags instead.
Mydin managing director Ameer Ali Mydin said he supported the suggestion by Selangor BN on condition that environment-friendly bags be provided instead of normal plastic bags.
“I’m not saying I support their suggestion although from a business perspective, I feel it is wise not to charge for plastic bags.
“At the same time, we have to educate shoppers about using less plastic.
“Shoppers usually reuse these plastic bags for garbage disposal at home. If they do not get these bags, they will have to buy them anyway.
“I support this call by Selangor BN but only if they decide to use environmentally-friendly bags,” he said when contacted by FMT.
Yesterday, Selangor BN information chief Satim Diman said the 20 sen charge for plastic bags would be lifted if BN swept to power in Selangor in the coming general election.
Many organisations and political parties had disagreed with him, saying the convenience of shoppers should not come at an environmental cost.
Ameer admitted that the usage of plastic bags had been reduced since the Selangor government started imposing the 20 sen charge on every plastic bag in January last year.
“Most users bring their own bags now but sometimes shoppers make unplanned visits to the store and do not bring their own bags. Sometimes they complain about the 20 sen charge.”
Klang MP Charles Santiago said the suggestion by Selangor BN clearly showed it did not understand the environmental issues surrounding the usage of plastic.
“Studies have shown that in another 10-15 years, there will be more plastic in the rivers and seas than the fish population.
“These guys do not seem to know this. Instead of supporting the initiative, they intend to actually make it easier for people to use plastic.”
Environmentalist Andrew Sebastian argued that even the current policy was not good enough.
“There is still too much usage of plastic bags.
“This is not a problem of a particular state but a problem nationwide and in developing countries,” he told FMT.
Sebastian, who is chief executive officer of Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia, said there aren’t enough businesses participating in this effort to deter usage of plastic bags.
“Only a few business leaders and brands have done justice to this scheme, namely Bodyshop (Peninsula Malaysia) and Aeon Co (M) Bhd (Jusco).
“Right now, there are only penalties for using plastic but there is no complete ban.”
The former president of the Malaysian Nature Society also believes the use of plastic bags still remains a large problem, especially with short-term consumer plastic bag use.
“Plastic bags in retail outlets, large and small, continue to plague our marine ecosystems. It’s time to seriously put into place an immediate plan to phase out consumer plastic bags.
“The current pay-as-you-use system is not working and dialogues should be conducted on the matter.
“A high-level apolitical committee should be formed to chart our plan towards a full ban, which includes engagement with plastic bag manufacturers.”
The current Selangor government began charging 20 sen for plastic bags from Jan 1, 2017. It had collected RM1.87 million as of July last year.
Penang began its “no free plastic bag” policy on July 1, 2009, starting with chargeable plastic bags on Mondays. It also enforced a permanent ban on the use of polystyrene food containers.
It then extended the ban to three days in 2010 from Monday to Wednesday. A complete ban on free plastic bags was implemented in 2011.
BN’s ‘free plastic bag’ giveaway promise offensive, says Penang exco
The views expressed in the contents are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of FMT.
lagi info di : Gosip Artis Terkini