Most shoppers happy with plastic bag ruling

Published by site admin | Filed under Latest News

THERE were mixed reactions to the “No Plastic Bag Day” ruling in Selangor that came into effect last Saturday.

While some shoppers complained about being caught unawares or insisted on getting plastic bags, others embraced the campaign enthusiastically by bringing their own shopping bags.

The Selangor state government had announced that the six-month campaign would take effect every Saturday, and consumers who request for plastic bags would be charged 20 sen per bag.

Selangor tourism, consumer and environment committee chairman Elizabeth Wong said the campaign was to encourage the reduction of plastic bags, and not a complete ban.

Going green: Wong (right) helping a shopper pack her purchases into a reusable bag produced by the state government to promote the `No Plastic Bag Day’ campaign at Jusco, 1 Utama Shopping Centre on Saturday.

“We have 20 big retailers comprising hypermarkets, supermarkets, pharmacies and convenience stores who are participating during the campaign’s initial stage,” she said.

“We hope to get hundreds more to join after three months. My office is getting calls from more companies wanting to pledge their support for the campaign and we encourage concerned groups and NGOs to take part, too.”

Wong said the state government was working with the Malaysia Retailers Association to get the retailers’ support and the Malaysia Plastic Forum to get assistance in terms of lobbying for issues on plastic.

“In line with the 3R concept, we want to see a reduction in the use of plastic bags,” she said.

Big enough: A shopper using The Big Green Bag for her purchases at Tesco Mutiara Damansara.

“We will evaluate the campaign after six months, on whether the campaign should be extended and consider making it part of the licensing requirements (for retailers).

“We hope to see a 50% reduction of free distribution of plastic bags in Selangor after six months.”

Wong said this after a visit to Jusco and Cold Storage at 1 Utama Shopping Centre to distribute reusable bags and inform consumers about the campaign on Saturday.

“The shoppers’ response was beyond expectations. It is encouraging to see the people in Selangor wanting to do something for the environment,” she said.

“The state government is intensifying the campaign by producing some 35,000 reusable bags for free distribution and putting up billboards.”

Meanwhile, 10 Kuala Lumpur MPs have also submitted a petition to Kuala Lumpur City Hall for the city to initiate a similar “No Plastic Bag Day” campaign.

Consumers’ reaction

Dr Pauline Lai was out shopping with her father Richard Lai, and came prepared with some 20 reusable bags to pack their groceries.

“I always keep these bags in my car for such a purpose and have been using my own bags for grocery shopping for the past year,” said Pauline, who attributed her preparedness to environmental awareness and overseas education.

The 40-year-old pharmacist also separates her garbage at home and feels that the “No Plastic Bag” concept should be implemented nationwide.

Another shopper is secretary Chua Ai Lee who feels the move is great for the environment.

“I try to bring my own bags whenever I go out shopping,” said Chua, 35.

“But with the campaign, I am planning to intensify my efforts to make sure I don’t use so many plastic bags.”

As a fishing enthusiast, Harry Foo has seen plenty of plastic bags left discarded at lakes and beaches.

“I keep reusable bags in my car so I’ll remember to bring them along whenever I go grocery shopping,” said the 70-year-old.

Legal manager Zuraidah Mohd Yatim was among those caught unawares when shopping at a popular hypermarket.

“I had to buy recyclable bags to carry my purchases and wheel the rest in the trolley to my car,” said Zuraidah, 42.

“I knew the campaign had already started at Ikea but I didn’t know it had been extended to hypermarkets.”

One irate shopper had brought along a bag for his shopping but said it was not enough for all his groceries.

“The government should have made the campaign better known to the public. There are even fewer shoppers than usual today (on the first day of the campaign),” he said.

Environment groups

Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) communication head Andrew Sebastian said Malaysians should support activities that reduced the impact on the environment, especially waste.

On the campaign’s effectiveness, Sebastian said: “We are dealing with mindset change here. It takes time, but every little bit helps.

“There are many ways to carry out such campaigns, whether in phases or immediate implementation,” he said.

“It would be great if the hypermarkets and retailers offer incentives to make it more exciting to encourage consumers to take up the initiative.”

He added that MNS was suppor- tive of the campaign and that Malaysians should reduce usage of plastic bags as part of their everyday habits.

“People have to make it part of their lifestyle for the campaign to be truly effective,” said Centre for Environment, Technology & Development Malaysia (Cetdem) executive director Anthony Tan.

He cited the example of his family making it a conscious habit to bring reusable bags with them when they go out shopping, and bringing containers when they do their marketing at the pasar malam.

“The whole point of the campaign is to educate people on the need to reduce taking excessive and unnecessary number of plastic bags,” said Tan.

“The fact remains that many are not conscious about the number of plastic bags that they use, not to mention the plastic bags that are often freely given away at food outlets or convenience stores.

“It is usually the odd-sized plastic bags that end up in drains and contaminate the environment.”

Tan added that there was also a need to educate food stall operators and retailers on the need to help the environment.

Examples in other countries

• Plastic bags are either taxed or require additional charges in places like Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Holland.

• Ireland became the first country in March 2002 to introduce a plastic bag tax on consumers, or PlasTax. Designed to reduce their rampant consumption of plastic shopping bags per year, the tax resulted in a 90% drop in consumption, and approximately one billion fewer bags consumed annually.

·In Oct 2001, Taiwan introduced a ban on distribution of free single-use plastic bags by government agencies, schools and the military. It was then expanded to include supermarkets, fast-food outlets, department stores and convenience stores. The ban was lifted in 2006 for food service operators to offer free plastic bags.

·China introduced a ban on flimsy plastic bags in June 2008 to reduce “white pollution” – the popular term for plastic bags and styrofoam packaging. Under the new rules, the state forbade production of ultra-thin bags under 0.025mm thick and ordered supermarkets to stop giving away free bags.

·Switzerland requires supermarkets to charge $0.15-$0.20 (50 sen-70 sen) per paper bag. Most shoppers bring their own reusable shopping bags.

·Since launching a 5 pence (30 sen) charge for carrier bags in May 2008, Marks & Spencers in the United Kingdom said there had been an 80% reduction in their use in the first year.

·Bangladesh slapped an outright ban on all polyethylene bags in Dhaka in March 2002 after they were found to have been the main culprit during two major floods that affected two-thirds of the country, as discarded bags were choking the drainage system.

·In Denmark, the waste tax is differentiated so that it is most expensive to landfill waste, cheaper to incinerate it and tax exempt to recycle it. It also has “green” taxes on packaging, plastic bags, disposable tableware and nickel-cadmium batteries.