KUALA LUMPUR – Putrajaya aims to eliminate the retail use of plastic bags across all business sectors nationwide by 2025, announced Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
Nik Nazmi, who is also Setiawangsa MP, said that up to 2021, the initiative under the No Plastic Bags Campaign had been carried out in phases initially targeting fixed business premises such as supermarkets and sundry shops.
The prohibition was then extended last year to include stalls and roadside traders, with the government setting 2025 as its goal for the campaign’s conclusion.
“The federal administration has given space to local authorities and state governments to determine how the ban will be implemented in line with their respective local context.
“The government’s approach of introducing the campaign’s action plan in phases is to ensure its efficiency and allow citizens to understand the rationale – while prompting them to make environmentally-friendly choices,” Nik Nazmi said.
The minister said this in his officiating speech at the Madani Reusable Bag and No Plastic Bag Campaign launch ceremony in Klang today.
Noting that details will be shared with the public accordingly, he also said that so far, Selangor, Penang, Johor and Negri Sembilan have participated in the campaign, which is part of the government’s long-term plan to deal with single-use plastic pollution issues in the nation.
Pointing to a World Wildlife Fund report, Nik Nazmi said the estimated value of food plastic packaging consumption in Malaysia was a whopping 148,000 metric tonnes in 2020.
“This is not a number that we should be proud of,” he lamented, adding that all stakeholders involved in the campaign must do their part in making the initiative a success. – The Vibes, May 9, 2023
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