Selangor govt says to review anti-polystyrene container policy since still widely used

Malay Mail

SHAH ALAM, March 7 — Ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan, the Selangor state government said today it is in the process of reviewing its polystyrene container ban policy as the food packaging usage is still widely used.

State public health and environment committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said awareness programmes on the effects of polystyrene use will be intensified at all levels.

“The state government meeting council has considered and approved the proposal to reduce the use of polystyrene in Selangor through the council consideration paper dated June 23, 2016.

“However, the use of polystyrene is still seen to be high and there is a lot of demand among users. Therefore, the Selangor government is in the process of reviewing and re-examining the proposed policy regarding the use of polystyrene.

“In addition, the awareness programme on the effects of polystyrene use will be intensified at all levels including government agencies, the private sector, local authorities (PBT) and the local community,” she said during the question-and-answer session in today’s state legislative assembly sitting.

Jamaliah said the state government in collaboration with PBT also always takes steps in the form of awareness and education programmes to encourage the community to bring their own food and drink containers, in addition to reusable bags.

Among the programmes to be organised is to encourage the public to bring their own food containers in the Ramadhan bazaars and night markets by giving incentives in the form of coupons to users who participate in the programme.

The ban on the use of polystyrene containers took effect in January 2017 and those who go against this ban may face fines up to RM1,000.