By Sheeda Fathil
SHAH ALAM, May 21 — The state government has proposed fully abolishing the use of plastic bags in all business premises in Selangor by 2025, according to state executive councillor for the environment Hee Loy Sian.
However, he said the initiative will depend on whether there are other more suitable methods to replace the material in question.
"We recommended abolishing plastic bag usage by 2025 and replacing them with other suitable material, be it recyclable bags or paper bags.
"We also encourage the local authorities to frequently organise plastic bags and environmental awareness campaigns for society," Hee told SelangorKini.
The councillor added that society is highly encouraged to use eco-friendly bags when doing shopping since they save up instead of having to pay 20 cents for one plastic bag, which would be more costly if they had to use more than one bag.
On September 27 last year, Hee announced the 20 cent surcharge on plastic bags in Selangor is expected to increase, should the campaign, which has been in effect for several years, fail to meet its goal.
He said the annual amount collected from the sales of plastic bags so far will be reviewed before any policy changes are made.
Beginning in January 2017, businesses in Selangor can no longer provide plastic bags for free and have been ordered to cease using disposable food containers and polystyrene cutlery in all premises.
