Volunteers clearing plastic waste at Pulau Aur, Mersing. MDM hopes to reduce the problem of pollution through the 20sen charge for plastic bags.
Mersing District Council (MDM) will charge consumers 20sen for every plastic bag requested, in line with the government’s No Plastic Bag Campaign.
MDM president Mohd Norman Noh said the initiative would be carried out in stages, with all premises given a month to register with the local council in order to collect the charge certificate.
“All premises in the Mersing district that provide plastic bags must register with the council starting Aug 1.
“The first collection will be conducted every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday starting Sept 1 before we move on to charging it every day starting next year,” he said.
The premises include hypermarkets, supermarkets, department stores, convenience stores, fast food restaurants, petrol station stores, chain stores and pharmacies.
“Each of the registered premises will be given the certificate to collect a minimum charge of 20sen for each plastic bag provided to customers at the cashier counter.
“The certificate is restricted to one premises only, is not transferable and should be clearly shown to customers,” said Mohd Norman.
He added that those found collecting the charge without registering would have their operating licence revoked under Section 107(2) of the Local Government Act 1976.
Registration is free of charge, and the certificate is valid for a year, after which annual renewal will be one of the requirements for business licence renewal.
Mohd Norman said the collected fee should be handed over to the council before the 15th day of each month.
“The fee will be set as a pollution charge that will be used to fund environmental-related activities,” he added.
Full details of the campaign are available at mdmersing.gov.my/ms/perniagaan/perlesenan
In May, Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man was reported as saying that all state governments had agreed to implement the No Plastic Bag Campaign.
