Shoppers find plastic bag ban an inconvenience

KUCHING: Some shoppers here find campaigns to reduce the use of plastic bags an inconvenience as they do not have the habit of carrying reusable bags.

Mohd Izzuddin Abdul Aziz, 29, said he does not fancy saying no to plastic bags because he is used to being provided with plastic bags when shopping.

“Personally, it is inconvenient not to be given plastic bags. Almost all supermarkets are using plastic bags, so I do not bring any reusable bag when I go shopping.

“If the local authorities here are going to implement any ‘No Plastic Bag’ campaign, the people should be well informed of the objective,” he said when met at a supermarket yesterday.

He was asked to comment on the Sibu Municipal Council’s ‘Say No To Plastic Bags 2.0’ campaign beginning next month, which will require businesses to replace plastic bags with biodegradable bags or paper boxes.

Izzuddin said he would not object to the campaign if the local authorities here were to follow suit.

“Just tell us the objective of the campaign. And if we are made to pay for the plastic bags, the fee should be kept at a minimum,” he added.

A student from Selangor, Ain Nadirah Mohd Sufian, said she preferred using plastic bags as they could be reused as rubbish bags.

“Initially, it was like no plastic bags once a week and later three times per week. And over a year ago, it was fully implemented and we in Selangor no longer use plastic bags.

“If you forget to bring your own reusable bags, you will have to pay for the plastic bags which are 20 sen each,” she said.

Ain Nadirah, who is pursuing chemical engineering at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), said in Selangor her family buys plastic bags for waste disposal.

“So when I came to Sarawak about a year ago, I feel relieved to be given plastic bags instead of buying on my own,” she said, but quickly added it would be better for the environment to reduce the use of plastic bags.

Home tutor Emma Lee said the majority of Kuching folk still lacked awareness of the 3R concept of reduce, reuse and recycle.

“I was once disallowed by a supermarket in Stutong to use my reusable bag. They insisted that I use their plastic bags. Plastic bags may be a necessity but I do think that people should reduce the use of plastic bags or go for paper bags or boxes,” she said.

“When they are made to reduce using plastic bags, they will gradually get used to it. It is a matter of changing your habit.”