SHAH ALAM, March 12 — Selangor is planning to raise the current 20 sen plastic bag charge through a new by-law that will make the collection mandatory across the state.
Executive councillor for public health and environment Jamaliah Jamaluddin said the proposed increase will be considered after the state finalises its action plan to reduce single-use plastics.
She said the new rate will be discussed at the State Executive Council meeting before a final decision is made.
“The current charge of 20 sen has been in place for quite some time. We plan to introduce provisions in a by-law to give local authorities the power to ensure the plastic bag charge is enforced,” she said.
“However, the new rate has not been set yet. An increase is possible as the charge will become mandatory once the by-law is enforced.”
Jamaliah said Selangor has collected more than RM20 million from the plastic bag charge since it was introduced in 2020.
She said most of the funds are used to support public awareness campaigns aimed at reducing plastic use and to fund the state’s recycling initiative.
The programme, known as SelKitar, encourages residents to practise recycling by placing recyclable materials in front of their homes for collection by dedicated trucks.
“SelKitar is currently implemented as a pilot project in 11 local authority areas involving about 400,000 homes,” she said after attending a breaking fast event with the media here yesterday.
Jamaliah said the main goal of the plastic bag charge is to reduce single-use plastic consumption rather than increase state revenue.
“Our hope is actually that the collection will decline because people will stop using single-use plastic bags,” she said.
She added that the state government is also considering banning single-use plastics on certain days at business premises.
The measure would be introduced through amendments to the Trade, Business and Industrial Licensing by-laws to enable enforcement against premises that fail to comply.
Jamaliah said the action plan and related legislation are expected to be finalised around July, depending on the legal review process including its translation into English.
“If finalised, Selangor could become the first state to introduce a specific by-law to regulate the use of single-use plastics,” she said.
