Rogayah Jamain.

SIBU: The locals have apparently responded positively to Sibu Municipal Council’s ‘Say No To Plastic Bags 2.0’ campaign, which is nearing the end of its three-month trial period.

The trial period started in October while the full implementation of the campaign will begin next year.

“So far, the response and feedback from both retailers and the public on ‘no plastic bag day’ for three days (Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays) have been positive,” said Sibu Municipal Council deputy chairperson Rogayah Jamain.

She said: “Most of the retailers support our campaign by not giving plastic bags on those three days (per week).

“As an alternative, they provide bio-degradable plastic bags, boxes and recycle bags to their customers.”

She said the council encouraged shoppers to bring their own recycling bags.

Based on a 2010 survey among major towns in Sarawak, the composition of waste include food perishables (35 per cent), paper (19 per cent), soft plastic (11 per cent), hard plastic (5 per cent), garden waste (5 per cent), nappies (5 per cent), glass (3 per cent), wood (2 per cent), the rest being metal and construction waste.

Meanwhile, it was observed that some members of the public entered the restricted area where Christmas trees were displayed at Sibu Town Square Phase 1 to take photographs.

On this, Rogayah said: “SMC will inform the security guards to patrol the areas regularly.”