By Karen Bong
KUCHING, April 29: Businesses caught still using plastic straws after the first warning will have their license suspended, warns Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng.
Wee issued this warning after noticing that some businesses within the MBKS jurisdiction are still resistant to the plastic straw ban policy, which officially came into effect on Jan 1 this year, with enforcement starting on April 1.
“There are still places secretly using plastic straws. We will not hesitate to take strict enforcement action from now on.
“I know the cost of plastic straws is cheap, but the environmental consequences are expensive and long-lasting,” he said during his ShallWeeTalk live session today.
Wee urged the business community, especially those in the food and beverage sector, to collaborate and work with the Council to comply with the policy, which can help significantly reduce plastic waste and promote environmental sustainability.
He also asked members of the public to be the Council’s eyes by reporting the location and name of any eatery for non-compliance to 016-6601919.
Meanwhile, MBKS, in collaborating with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), is also holding a series of events as part of the ‘Make Climate Cool Again: Let’s Talk About The Environment’ exhibition with an attempt to break a new record in the Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR) on banning plastic straws through a turtle sculpture artwork that will be kicked start tomorrow until May 8.
“The artworks in the exhibition are created using plastic straws collected back for recycling by the Council following the no plastic straw ban policy.
“Through the exhibition, we hope this will raise greater awareness on actions that need to be taken by everyone to protect our environment, including ending the use of plastic straws,” he added. — DayakDaily
