Penang to go green every Monday starting next month

June 5, 2009
Star
By ANN TAN

GEORGE TOWN: Penang will make every Monday a “No plastic bag day” from next month in a bid to become the country’s first ‘green’ state.

It is learnt that shoppers who do not bring their own reusable bags will be charged 20 sen for each plastic bag when making purchases from shopping complexes and hypermarkets.

The money collected from the sale of plastic bags will go to the fund to help the state’s hardcore poor, a state government source said.

State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said shopping complexes and hypermarkets have agreed to the state government’s initiative but there must be wide publicity to make it a success.

The state had distributed declaration forms to shopping complexes and hypermarkets to secure their commitment to the “No plastic bag day”, he told reporters after chairing a meeting with some 20 shopping centre representatives.

Phee said the first batch of “No plastic bag day” posters would be handed out to shopping centres a week before the end of the month.

Among the issues raised during the meeting were the high cost of giving out eco-bags and whether it was appropriate to use them for fresh produce.

Penang: Say no to plastic bags

May 23, 2009
Penang: Say no to plastic bags
The Star

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Government plans to make every first Monday of the month a “no to plastic bags” day starting from July.

The state was determined to see through the green move despite getting lukewarm response from retail operators in an earlier attempt, when only a handful of them turned up for a meeting on the matter.

Undeterred, state Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said a meeting would again be held on June 2 – this time with 300 operators of mini markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets and departmental stores.

“We’ll make a final decision on June 2 on how we can reduce the use of plastic bags.

“If all goes well, starting on the first Monday of July, no plastic bags will be issued at the counters of these places,” he said here.

An earlier meeting was chaired on May 18 but only 32 operators attended.

“We will work extra hard to generate awareness among Penangites to minimise the use of plastic bags. We will also suggest that all supermarkets and hypermarkets set up express lanes for customers who bring their own bags, give out special promotions and also give out free environment-friendly bags to shoppers who spend RM50 and above,” Phee said.

Phee added that some consumers might be upset about not getting plastic bags but he hoped that they would respect the effort to preserve the environment.

He said several countries had imposed a ban or taxation on the use of plastic bags but Penang was not looking at such legislation yet.

Survey on plastic bag ban in Penang

April 21, 2009
Star

PENANG will conduct a survey over the next few months before deciding on whether to ban the use of plastic bags in the state.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state would adopt a ‘progressive approach’ to formulate a solution that was acceptable to everyone.

He said this when opening the ‘Plastic Bag: To Ban, or Not to Ban?’ public forum at the Penang Caring Complex on Sunday.

“We want to strongly emphasise the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).

“If you only focus on recycling, you are merely minimising the problem as opposed to solving it,” he added.

“This forum is part of our efforts to get the stakeholders’ feedback before we develop a comprehensive policy that will accommodate different aspects of solid waste management including public health, cultural, environmental, economic developments as well as social capital and equity aspects in society,” he said.

Lim added that a recent check by the state on six major supermarkets and hypermarkets in Penang showed that a total of 25.2 million plastic bags were distributed last year to consumers.

“This amount doesn’t include the millions used by other retailers and hawkers.

“Tourists complain that Penang is dirty with plastic bags littering the streets, drains, rivers, beaches and sea. Hence, there is a need to take action now,” he said.

“Our local municipal councils have a recycling rate of 33% which is among the highest in the country but the state currently generates about 1,500 to 1,600 tons of waste per day.

“At this rate, we will have used up our existing landfill site soon,” he warned, adding that in 2006, solid waste management cost constituted up to 20% of the Penang Municipal Council’s revenue collection.

“This cost continues to escalate as our waste generation increases year by year. We need to find solutions to reduce our solid waste management bill,” he said, noting that plastic bags were widely used because they were “acceptable, available and affordable.”

“They are cheap, useful, and plentiful, which brings about the problem of excessive usage and injudicious dumping of an otherwise useful product,” he said.

In his presentation, Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association president and Malaysian Plastics Forum chairman Lim Kok Boon said plastic as a product, contributed positively to the environment and society.

“However, plastic waste, just like any other waste, must be properly managed. Banning plastic is not the answer; the 3Rs approach is,” he said.

In his closing speech, Penang Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said this was the first time such a dialogue had been held.

“The issue of whether to ban the usage of plastic shopping bags is complex as it effects all levels of society.

“The state will consider all suggestions seriously and carefully,” he said, adding that the focus was now was on public awareness and educational campaign.

The five-hour dialogue saw some 200 participants resolving to support efforts to minimise the excessive usage of disposable plastic bags.