Is my country ready to completely ban plastic bags by 2025?

What does this subject have to do with me?

Plastic bags are almost indispensable in our daily life, but they are now regarded as "environmental killers". If plastic bags are banned in the future, it will not only help protect the environment, but also change our consumption habits.

The government has set a small goal: to completely ban the use of plastic bags from 2025!

Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi announced earlier that the government will formulate unified guidelines for all parties to follow, and will adopt a combination of rewards and punishments. Not only will violators be punished, but incentives and an adaptation period will also be provided.

In fact, our country has launched a plastic bag-free campaign more than ten years ago, but the pace of each state is inconsistent. Some states have postponed the implementation of charging for plastic bags for various reasons.

Given the current situation, can my country completely ban plastic bags in two years? Or will it become another "talk-about" policy?

Nearly 10 billion plastic bags are discarded in our country every year!

The Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) estimates that each Malaysian throws away an average of 300 plastic bags a year. If calculated based on Malaysia’s population of 33.2 million, this means that the entire Malaysian population throws away a total of 9.96 billion plastic bags!

It is worth mentioning that this figure only includes plastic bags taken from hypermarkets and supermarkets, and does not include department stores, catering establishments, or even hawker stalls.

How many plastic bags are there in the landfill?

Plastic waste in my country accounts for a quarter of solid waste, of which plastic films (such as plastic bags and food packaging bags) account for the majority, and are the second largest type of waste after food waste.

General plastic bags are mainly made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which has excellent transparency and elasticity, as well as better aesthetics, printability, electrical insulation and easy processing.

However, plastic bags are not very heat-resistant and will produce harmful substances when exposed to high temperatures.

Another problem is that plastic bags are difficult to decompose, a process that takes decades to thousands of years, and seep into the soil and water in the form of microparticles, having long-term negative impacts on the ecosystem.

my country's road to a "plastic bag-free" era

In order to enhance the public's awareness of environmental protection, the Penang state government began implementing "No Free Plastic Bag Day" as early as 2009, and in just two years it was expanded from one day a week to seven days a week. The central government has designated every Saturday as "No Free Plastic Bag Day" nationwide since 2011, and aims to ban plastic bags in all retail activities in all commercial sectors around the clock by 2025.

Penang is the first to price plastic bags

Penang is the first state in Malaysia to charge for plastic bags. The fee for each plastic bag has been increased from 20 cents to the current RM1.

As of April last year, the Penang state government had collected more than RM15 million in fees, equivalent to "selling" more than 38.48 million plastic bags. The relevant proceeds were used to promote welfare programs in the state to help vulnerable groups.

Plastic bag sales in Selangor exceed 100 million in three years!

Selangor has implemented the "No Free Plastic Bag Day" measure every Saturday since 2010, and expanded it to seven days a week in 2017.

Over the past three years, Selangor has collected at least RM24 million, equivalent to more than 120 million plastic bags, from the 20 sen fee charged for each plastic bag. 60% of the revenue will be given to the state government, and the rest will be put into the local government account.