The Selangor Government has observed a significant decrease in plastic bag charge collections, from RM13.35 million in 2023 to RM6.97 million in 2025, totaling RM29.36 million over the three-year period. A small victory in this battle against single use plastic. However, this only accounts for established retail stores like 99 Speedmart, 7-Eleven, MyNews, and the likes of them.
How about Ma and Pa run sundry stores? In my own experience, many “marhaen” convenience stores and pasar malam operators are still taken aback whenever you pass them your own bag. After nearly two decades of sustainability, a non-woven or tote bag is still a surprise to our society.
When we look at the food and beverages industry, on the surface we can be glad that our packed food comes in recyclable plastic. But this doesn’t work, simply because many of us aren’t bothered to clean it off oil and food waste. The effect then? Many of these recyclable containers are not recycled because they still go into the rubbish bin instead being returned to the system.
The immediate resolve then would be to use compostable materials. Right? Maybe, let’s look at it.
The major encumbrance of compostable containers is the lack of Research and Development. Plastic has served its purpose so well, that we have not looked enough into alternate materials. Important questions here:
- Will my fries be soggy?
- Will my curry leak into my lunch bag?
- What if my delivery driver got stuck in a traffic jam?
These silly yet very important questions could set the tone to how the FnB and Food Delivery sectors operate. Another set of questions that we will never receive answers for, and another opportunity to reduce single-use-plastic gone by the air.
These changes are not done by NGOs picking up trash by the beaches. Not by scientists and researchers doing conservation underwater. These are changes that must be carried by the leaders of the system that keeps these matters in check. Our ministers, and officers who work in their offices.
Until the ministers and their officers do not recycle and step away from the hypocrisy that they maintain, these systemic changes will not happen. This single-use-plastic reform needs a political will. A bolden-heart ready to tackle the industry monsters within the country and foreign.
We don’t need a culling of single-use-plastic. We need a plan to transition from plastic to other materials. We need to look at our downstream and reel them back into our circular economy.
Looking into the grand scale of how our industries have affected our environment, this would seem minute. But perhaps, we could learn from our small wins and be ready to replicate them until we figure out how to stop incoming waste and deal with the ones that we already have.
