PENANG, 5 June 2009: The Penang government has declared every Monday as “No plastic day” for the state beginning 1 July.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today the government’s ban on using plastic bags marked its commitment towards becoming a green state.
“Following consultation and dialogues with hypermarkets, supermarkets, mini markets, plastic manufacturers and NGOs, the ban on using plastic bags marks our serious commitment towards reducing the use of plastic bags,” he told a news conference.
He said that to encourage consumers to bring their own bags and reduce their dependency on plastic bags, consumers would be charged 20 sen per bag on those Mondays.
The proceeds would be donated to the state’s hardcore poverty programme.
Lim said a state government survey on six major groups of supermarkets and hypermarkets showed that as much as 25.2 million plastic bags were distributed in 2008. — Bernama
Naim says
Go green go!
Pratamad says
I applaud this move by the Penang state government, mainly to raise the awareness of environmental impact by plastic bags.
In Singapore, such campaigns have been started since last year. Whenever we go out for our weekly groceries, we start to bring our own bags. It’s a small effort that goes a long way.