Close down plastic bag factories, suggests rep

A Selangor backbencher has urged the state government to close down factories producing plastic bags to effectively curb their use.

Shafie Abu Bakar (PAS-Bangi) said that the state's "No plastic bag" campaign is not achieving its target and as such more radical measures are required.

He described the current campaign as ineffective and a waste of state government resources.

Shafie said this when interjecting Consumer Affairs and Environment exco member Elizabeth Wong's (left) winding-up speech on the Supply Bill 2011 at the Selangor state legislative assembly sitting today.

Speaker Teng Chang Khim, at this point, asked Shafie if shutting down such factories would affect investment in the state.

Shafie retorted that the public can resort to environmentally-friendly shopping bags instead.

Education, not compulsion

Wong later replied that prohibition of plastic bag production was too extreme and was not in line with the state's objective of educating the public on the need to reduce plastic bag usage.

"We are also trying to tell consumers that plastic bags come with a price. It is not free," she said.

She added that independent pollster Merdeka Centre had conducted a survey on the six-month campaign and found that 83.6 percent of Selangor's residents welcome it.

"The support from the public is very encouraging," said Wong.

She said that the next stage was to encourage the public to separate household waste according to biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials.

She added that even the federal government and other state governments have responded positively to state's campaign.

Overwhelming support

In a related development, Wong said in a statement that the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Ministry is initiating "no plastic bag day" campaigns of its own.

She also announced that the state government will extend the ongoing "no plastic day" campaign to two days a week.

Currently, major shopping centres in the state observe this day every Saturday. Plastic bags are sold at 20 sen each if customers insist on them.

As of October, a total of 74 shopping centres and retailers had joined the campaign.

"More than four million plastic bags have been saved from this campaign and from the information that we have received, RM220,000 has been collected from the 20 sen surcharge," said Wong.

She added that the sum will not end up in the retailers' coffers and instead be channelled to their corporate social responsibility programmes, environmental NGOs and welfare groups of their choice.