The state government will begin enforcing stricter rules on single-use plastics in phases. — Filepic
SELANGOR will begin enforcing stricter rules on single-use plastics in phases next year, starting with supermarkets and large retail outlets before expanding to smaller traders and night markets.
State public health and environment committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin said the move was part of Selangor’s long-term plan to be plastic-free by 2030.
She said legislation to embed the “No Plastic Bag Day” initiative into licensing conditions across all 12 local councils was in the final stage.
“Once the legal wording is completed, we expect implementation to begin next year,” she said at the Selangor Environment Carnival 2025 held at a mall in Shah Alam.
Jamaliah said enforcement would be introduced gradually to give local authorities and businesses time to adapt.
“For now, we are focusing on premises that have the capacity to comply, like supermarkets and convenience stores,” she said.
“As for night markets and smaller traders, we will take a more educational and advisory approach first.”
She said the authorities should display signs reminding visitors to bring their own bags rather than face immediate action.
Jamaliah says the ‘No Plastic Bag’ initiative will be part of licensing conditions across all 12 local councils.
“The idea is to promote behavioural change, not to penalise immediately,” she said, adding that charging for each plastic bag used would not be applied to night markets as this would be too complicated.
Jamaliah also said the current 20sen plastic bag charge was under review and would likely be increased once the legal framework was in place.
“We are targeting to introduce the new rate early next year, subject to final approval from the state legal department,” she added.
Jamaliah said previous proposals of new rate were between 50sen and RM1 per bag.
Currently, single-use plastic bags are banned on weekends in Selangor and those who still want to use them are charged 20sen per piece.
Jamaliah added that under the SELKitar home-recycling programme, around 200,000 households across seven councils now sorted recyclable items for scheduled collection.
“The programme will soon be expanded to all 12 councils,” she said.
“The main issue we found earlier was that people were willing to recycle, but they found it troublesome to drive to drop-off points,” said Jamaliah.
“Now we make it easier for them by collecting from their homes.”
She said the state was also targeting school students through a new programme called “Program Sekolah – Rakan Bumi Selangor”, meaning “friends of the earth”.
The initiative, to be rolled out with the state Education Department, would begin with 50 secondary schools involving over 1,000 students.
It will include storytelling and climate-action projects focused on plastic reduction, recycling and community-based green efforts.
“We want students to express what they think about pollution and the environment,” said Jamaliah.
“Their work can even be used as publicity material to represent Selangor’s sustainability efforts.”
