Mayor: No need to wait for 2025 to realize no-plastic-bag goal

KUCHING (Jan 29): A call has been made to owners and operators of all shops, supermarkets and shopping malls here to cease the use of plastic bags.

In stating this, Kuching South mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng said they would not need to wait for two years to impose the ban on plastic bags.

“The target timeline to eliminate the use of plastic bags is 2025, but if we could start sooner, it would be better.

“Hopefully, we could achieve this goal by 2024.

“The initiative should be implemented promptly, given the increasingly unpredictable climate change, which is causing various issues and problems,” he said during the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Disaster Management Committee Meeting 2024 today.

Wee also pointed out that operators and owners of commercial premises would need to strongly support this effort.

“At times, when we’re at a shopping mall or a supermarket, they would inform you: ‘Oh, sorry, today we do not provide plastic bags, but if you want one, you need to pay RM0.20.

“RM0.20 may be cheap, but it poses a threat to our environment.

“The same goes for hawkers – they should encourage customers to bring their own food containers.

“On the no-plastic-bag initiative, we would start with the supermarkets and then, proceed to food vendors,” the mayor added.