Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for your gracious presence today at Penang Green Idol Public Speaking Competition in conjunction with Penang Green Carnival! First of all, congratulations to the students who made it to the Final!
I am delighted to see arising concerns from young talents in this competition. We will not only be witnessing young generation making their voices heard today but also how they generate evocative messages through creativity to create exponential positive impact for the Mother Earth. Champions will be crowned as Penang Green Idol, engaging with PGC’s programmes and projects for the duration of one year.
On July 1, 2009, Penang became the first state to implement the green ruling at shopping complexes and hypermarkets. The ruling was aimed at protecting the environment and raising environmental awareness. July 1st is the seventh anniversary since Penang announced the implementation of ‘No Free Plastic Bag’ policy. Supermarkets and retail shops are not allowed to give out plastic bags for free to customers but must collect a 20 cents levy for each bag the customer uses. The sum collected is then channelled to the state’s poverty fund (Agenda Ekonomi Saksama) , which is a programme to eradicate poverty in the state.
We received complaints about loosening of the policy. New establishments that did not register for the poverty fund and yet are collecting 20 cents for each plastic bag so we are advising them to register with the state government.
The state government has instructed the local governments to look into stringent rules and regulations to make sure the policy is being abided; we need cooperation from all Penang citizens to keep the momentum going. Report to me if you see any supermarkets or retail shops violating the rule. I have been checking the checkouts counter from time to time.
Penang is the first state that banned free plastic bags and total ban on polystyrene food containers. The policy has been emulated by other states in Malaysia since then.
We would like to stress that reducing plastic bags is just a small and simple step in terms of reducing waste. If we cannot even succeed in plastic bag reduction, we will not succeed in any other waste reduction program. Penang is the frontline battle for environmental protection and plastic bags reduction.
Plastic bags and climate change are linked in a variety of ways. From clogging drainage to ocean toxicity, the build-up of plastic in our oceans is a greater cause of eco-system disruption. An estimated 100,000 marine animals die each year from suffocating on or ingesting bags. Even that number seems small when you consider the impact of littered bags that break up into small pieces and wash into our waterways. These small pieces of plastic are accumulating at an alarming rate in our water and oceans. We are wrecking the oceans—and now our food, due to microplastics attracting and bio-concentrating toxic chemicals in the marine food chain.
Thank you for supporting the carnival’s Waste Wise Agreement carnival by not providing free plastic bags and supporting the usage of sustainable materials. Kudos!
Let’s curb plastic pollution and climate change together and make Penang a sustainable and liveable city.
Thank you.