KUALA LUMPUR: When customers and patrons are told that there are no plastic bags, the attitude shown by many of them, especially those who do not bring nor carry their own reusable shopping bags, is to leave and go elsewhere.
'No plastic bag? Ok then, I'll take my business elsewhere.' This is the answer given by many consumers who do not bring or carry their own bags.
One such consumer posted his experience on Facebook recently. On learning from the cashier that the popular Klang Valley supermarket he was shopping at did not provide plastic bags to their customers, he left all the items he wanted to buy on the counter, lying to the cashier he left his wallet in his car.
He showed no remorse for his action and even incited his friends to do the same thing he did, saying 'stingy businesses' like the supermarket he went to 'must be taught a lesson'.
Another consumer, who identified herself as Hanie, also aired her dissatisfaction on social media over the no plastic bag policy. She said she came across an elderly man who was forced to carry the more than 10 items he had bought in his hands.
"Even if you want to buy a plastic bag, there is none available. It was pitiful to see the uncle, who bought over 10 items but was not given a plastic bag, trying to get on his motorcycle which was already loaded with things. So where was he going to put the things he had just bought?" she asked.
It is obvious from these postings that some people are still oblivious to the government's objective of banning the use of plastic bags for retail purposes in all business sectors by 2025, which is just two years away.
Whether it is due to a lack of awareness or failure of the authorities to disseminate the no-plastic message more widely, the reliance on plastic bags at retail outlets is still high.
Campaign Ineffective?
According to Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) data, out of the 772,349 tonnes of waste generated by Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya residents in 2021, some 101,949 tonnes or 13 percent comprised plastic waste.
The Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association, meanwhile, has estimated that Malaysians use nine billion plastic bags every year, which raises the question of the effectiveness of the no plastic bag campaign the government has been conducting for some time now.
The dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Associate Professor Dr Mohd Hairy Ibrahim, said it is clear that the no plastic bag campaign has yet to produce encouraging results.
He attributed this to the campaign not being carried out in a comprehensive and competent manner as well as the lack of cooperation among business premises.
"There are customers who still rely on plastic bags… and the lack of synergy among business premises has led to some of them still providing plastic bags at 20 sen each. Some (retail outlets) already started (preparing for the ban on plastic bags) early by not at all providing any plastic bag," he told Bernama.
He said the availability of plastic bags at certain shopping outlets is one of the reasons consumers have failed to cultivate the practice of bringing along their own reusable bags when they go shopping.
Mohd Hairy, who is also a lecturer at the Department of Geography and the Environment, UPSI, said what he finds frustrating is the attitude of certain business premises, particularly grocery stores, that offer plastic bags at no extra cost purely to retain their customers.
A random survey of about 100 shoppers at major supermarkets in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, by Bernama showed less than 10 of them brought their own shopping bags, indicating the retailers are still providing free plastic bags to their customers.
According to Mohd Hairy, one of the factors for this is probably the fact that some state governments and local councils are not being proactive in monitoring the use of plastic bags at business premises.