KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Parks has started banning the use of single-use plastic bags in all its parks areas starting Jan 1.
This prohibition was aimed at protecting the fragile natural environment and wildlife, especially marine and forest ecosystems, from pollution and long-term damage, said Sabah Parks.
Its director Datuk Dr Maklarin Lakim advised visitors to bring their own recycled bags or to use other materials to substitute the use of single-use plastic bags.
He said it was important to keep park areas clean and reduce pollution, in line with the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry’s decision towards going greener and more sustainable.
“For our park, we are acting as the pioneers for this initiative,” he said, explaining that the amount of trash was sometimes a lot, especially during peak seasons.
Areas under Sabah Parks include Kinabalu Park, Turtle Islands Park, Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Pulau Tiga Park, Tawau Hills Park, Crocker Range Park, Tun Sakaran Marine Park and Sipadan Island Park.
Apart from Sabah Parks, many other establishments including supermarkets have started implementing similar initiatives on certain days, following the first campaign launched in 2010 to reduce the use of plastic bags.
The initiative was, however, stopped and rebranded several times since.
Participating outlets either charged a minimum fee for plastic bags or sold recycled bags for those who did not bring their own on days that the campaign runs, among other measures.
