The Government Must Take A Tougher, Stricter Approach

Stronger Enforcement Is Needed

A recent news article in The Star revealed that most local governments in the state of Perak, in Malaysia are still in the planning phase to implement the “No Plastic Bag” campaign whereby 20 cents will be charged for a plastic bag on Saturdays.

For the sake of protecting the environment and long-term sustainability, the Perak state government needs to take a tougher, stricter approach and carry out stronger enforcement.

The state government needs to work together with the state’s local governments to accelerate and strengthen the “No Plastic Bag” campaign.

Currently, plastic bags are frequently used for shopping purposes as they are free and easy to use.

The majority of people tend to use plastic bags because reusable bags are cumbersome as they have to be carried along by the user, and also need to be cleaned after use.

However, as we are aware, plastic bags don’t decay easily and the decaying process takes an extremely long time. And since plastic bag usage is quite widespread, a lot of rubbish contains plastic bags as well as things made from plastic.

As a result, most of the plastic waste thrown at rubbish landfills remains at those sites for decades. Besides that, the cleanliness of cities, towns as well as housing areas are also affected due to the high quantity of plastic waste.

Water bodies and marine life are badly affected as well due to the irresponsible dumping of plastic waste into drains and rivers.

Existing Measures Must Be Intensified

Therefore, the Perak government, working together with the local governments, needs to speed up and strengthen certain measures, such as:

1. The production and supply of plastic bags in the state should be stopped in stages.

The enforcement of the pollution charge should be extended to every day. Instead of charging a meager 20 cents, which doesn’t seem to deter the public, the charge should start at a much higher level, as well as gradually and continuously increase over time.

This move will encourage consumers to use their own bags repeatedly when shopping to avoid paying the ever-increasing cost of plastic bags.

2. Similarly, all eateries in the state should also apply a continuously increasing charge for providing plastic bags for packing back food and drinks.

At the same time, an initiative making it compulsory for all eateries to use environment-friendly food packets should be implemented firmly but in stages.

Such food packet production should be subsidized to reduce the high-cost burden on the eateries.

3. A state-wide campaign urging society to stop using plastic bags for daily shopping should be conducted through all forms of media.

People should be urged to bring their own food and drink containers from their houses whenever they wish to pack back food from eateries.

The Public Must Be More Discouraged From Using Plastic Bags

As long as plastic bags are still offered by business premises with a meager pollution charge of 20 cents, the public will continue to purchase them, instead of using their own bags.

Therefore, the only truly effective way to ensure the success of the “No Plastic Bag” campaign is by accelerating as well as strengthening efforts such as the above to stop the production and usage of plastic bags in society as soon as possible.

It’s high time the government takes this matter seriously, adopts a tougher, stricter approach, and carries out stronger enforcement.

Originally published at http://reformthesystem0.wordpress.com on August 4, 2023.

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