Ban carried out in stages to educate traders and consumers

MPSJ's move to phase out polystyrene proved to be a popular move. Its president Datuk Nor Hisham Dahlan is seen handing out reusable containers to visitors at the ramadan bazaar earlier this year.

SELANGOR has made a bold decision this year to ban the use of polystyrene in 2017 despite the backlash from traders.

All 12 councils gradually phased out polystyrene food packaging and started the move at Ramadan bazaars.

In a StarMetro article dated May 31, “Easing people into no-polystyrene ways”, Selangor Environment Committee chairman Elizabeth Wong had said the state had devised a three-pronged plan to get people to accept the idea.

She said they had decided on the plan following a study showing that most people welcomed the idea but wanted alternative packaging. The three-part plan, she said, was to educate consumers and traders, reduce polystyrene usage and provide alternatives instead of banning it outright immediately.

“It has to be planned and executed properly and in stages, so everyone can accept the idea,” she had said.

The government wanted to eliminate single-use plastic packaging before focusing on polystyrene, she added.

A state policy implemented five years ago had banned the use of polystyrene at government events, forcing traders to provide other options including multi-use packaging. Wong said the state absorbed the cost of packaging in the past and even made their own food containers, which were handed out during some of the events they organised.

The idea caught on with the councils, and they tried to introduce “no plastic bag” and “no polystyrene” campaigns during Ramadan and on Saturdays.

Unfortunately, traders were not happy with the move because they had to purchase alternative food packaging that cost at least 30sen extra per piece. Some pushed the extra cost on to customers, while others struggled to absorb it.

Shah Alam Farmers Market Association president Abdul Latif Md Ali had said although the initiative was laudable, it would affect their livelihood.

“It looks like we are being punished to help the state government get the campaign off the ground. The government needs to help bring the price of packaging down,” he had said.

Abdul Latif said most traders would have to charge customers an additional 50sen per biodegradable pack.

He said they were not opposed to the idea and, in fact, welcomed it. But he stressed that the prices of packaging should be monitored and regulated.

He also suggested that the state government help fund the cost.

The Shah Alam City Council was one of the local authorities to initiate a campaign with incentives for traders in their jurisdiction. They handed out 100 pieces of alternative packaging each to traders who turned up for their Ramadan bazaar briefing.

They also expressed hopes that residents would turn up with their own recyclable containers, as residents in Subang had done.

This was something introduced by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) and it had proven to be a popular move, with residents lauding it. The council started its “Say No to Polystyrene” campaign at their Ramadan bazaars in 2014 and began enforcing it this year.

Only three out of 2,000 hawkers at this year’s Ramadan bazaars were fined for not adhering to the no-polystyrene rule.

Despite all the hiccups, the Selangor state government will ban polystyrene on Jan 1.