THE Penang Island City Council (MBPP) aspires to impose a total ban of single-use plastics by 2023.
MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said the council was committed to the state government’s call for single-use plastics to be barred from all government events.
He said the ‘No Single-Use Plastics’ programme had started last year.
“Moving forward, we aim to fully implement ‘No Single-Use Plastics’ by 2023 and enforce it.
“It is our goal to encourage the public to adopt this programme by refusing to use single-use plastics and opt for environmentally-friendly alternatives.
“In the past 10 years, the state has also introduced a series of programmes to push the green agenda forward that started with the “No Free Plastic Bags” programme.
“This was followed by a ban on polystyrene containers,” he said in his speech during the Second IMT-GT Green Cities Mayor Meeting at Parkroyal Resort in Batu Ferringhi today.
Yew added that the council has also planned to plant 100,000 trees in another four years.
“We have planted over 350,000 trees around the state currently.”
Yew, meanwhile, expressed hopes that more green projects would be formulated at the meeting that could be implemented by all cities towards sustainable urban development.
“We will certainly share our experiences from the programmes we have implemented and we hope to learn from the Mayor Council members too,” he added.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Alvie Cheng