Pollution charge for plastic bags to be implemented in all states

All state governments have agreed to implement a pollution charge for plastic bags used with a minimum value of 20 sen for each one through the “No Plastic Bag” campaign which has already been implemented in Penang, Selangor and Johor.

Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in a statement said his ministry had obtained the mandate from the 76th National Council meeting for local government to impose the pollution charge.

He said an agreement to continue the campaign had been reached at the Meeting of Environment Ministers and Members of the State Executive Council Responsible for the Environment, which he chaired yesterday.

“Several other states are planning to start implementing this campaign along with the collection of the charge, starting with the initial phase of consumer awareness.

“This initiative that has been implemented since 2021 is an effective effort in reducing plastic pollution in Malaysia. I hope this initiative will continue to be supported by all parties for the sake of environmental sustainability which is our shared responsibility,” he said.

He also said the Department of Environment had continued to strengthen the Rakan Alam Sekitar (RAS) programme by creating five main clusters under RAS 2.0 to mobilise environmental conservation activities throughout the country in a more focused manner.

He said the establishment of the Agency RAS Cluster, Campus RAS Cluster, School RAS Cluster, Industrial RAS Cluster and Community RAS Cluster was aimed at forming and categorising RAS members, and would involve members of the Civil Defence Force, People’s Volunteer Corps, Scouts and Rukun Tetangga.

Tuan Ibrahim said the meeting also agreed on strengthening cooperation between the federal and state government to ensure that development activities are balanced with the need to preserve the environment.