PLASTIC pollution is suffocating our planet and is only worsening. Production has skyrocketed over the last two decades, with more plastic produced between 2003 and 2016, surpassing the amount produced in the entire 20th century.
While plastic is cheap and versatile, with countless uses across many industries, almost half of it is used to create short-lived or disposable products that can take hundreds of years to decompose. Globally, less than 10% of plastic products are recycled.
According to a report by World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia), the estimated total annual post-consumer plastic waste generated in Malaysia in 2016 was over one million tonnes, which is equal to the weight of almost 10,000 blue whales and can fill up approximately 76,000 garbage trucks.
Alarmingly, in 2021, our Klang river was listed as among the world’s highest emitters of plastic into the ocean. It is the second-highest riverine emitter of plastic with India’s Uthas river and the Philippines’ Tullahan river.
The recent announcement by the Natural Resources, Energy and Climate Change Ministry(NRECC) on the government’s plan to eliminate usage of plastic bags for retail purposes across all business sectors nationwide by 2025 is a welcome move.
NRECC minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the campaign will be carried out in stages, starting with businesses with fixed locations, like supermarkets and shops. The campaign will then be expanded to include other businesses, including roadside stalls.
Although WWF-Malaysia fully supports this plan, it is believed that execution is key to ensuring its impact and effectiveness.
While we acknowledge that this ban will help in phasing out and reduction of single-use plastic and encourage consumers to adopt more sustainable habits, there should also be clear steps for implementing the ban in the retail industry.
Furthermore, improved waste management and responsible production and consumption of plastics should also be looked into.
We believe that the ban should be complemented by clear targets and timelines to ensure progress is made gradually towards eventual elimination.
The detailed specification of targets and schedules can also help to reduce the prospect of confusion and market disruption, and create clear expectations for producers and retailers.
Monitoring and enforcement will play a significant role in ensuring the effectiveness of this ban.
In addition, we need to develop a stream of strategic interventions for positive behaviour change to reduce the demand for single-use plastic.
Proper teaching and learning experiences (curriculum and co-curriculum) should be created for and engaged by teachers, lecturers, students, parents and communities, to pledge their support for this initiative.
WWF is calling on governments to support global bans and phase out the “most high-risk and unnecessary” single-use plastic products.
Many countries are already implementing measures, from bans on plastic items, such as bags, straws and stirrers, to microbeads in cosmetics or single-use food and beverage items.
Nonetheless, despite regulation and voluntary measures at national levels, efforts have not proven enough to stop plastic from leaking into the environment and ending up hundreds or even thousands of kilometres away.
We commend the Malaysian government’s introduction of the circular economy in the 12th Malaysia Plan as it will set directions for better measures on product packaging and design for reuse, recycling or waste management.
For Malaysia to embark on the transition to a circular economy, we need businesses and consumers to start acknowledging the problem and be accountable for mitigating the plastic and packaging pollution crisis.
It is crucial to keep track of national progress and to identify effective measures to close the gaps.
The announcement also comes at an opportune moment, in conjunction with this year’s World Environment Day theme of “Beat Plastic Pollution”.
The plastic problem is so large that it has to be tackled by all parties, from the government to businesses to civil societies and the public. Simply expanding waste collection, landfill, incineration and recycling is insufficient.
The most significant step will be to combine these measures with a reduction of plastic in the system, and rethink packaging and product designs and business models, such as scaling up reuse and refillable models.
Finally, they have to be supported by standards, policies and regulations, to enable the circular economy to thrive.
This article is contributed by World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
