Perak postpones ban on plastic and polystyrene material

Perak has postponed the ban on polystyrene material and plastic usage from cafeterias in government buildings in the state, which was supposed to come into force on June 1.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the postponement is to allow a comprehensive study on the ban.

“We can’t solve these plastic and polystyrene problem without giving any alternative to the community or the environment.

“So we have many more aspects that we need to study and Environmental Exco has been asked to research about the impact of ban on stakeholders,” he said in a press conference at the state level Teacher’s Day celebration on Monday.

He said the study will also consider the impact of the ban in the states that have already implemented it.

"We've got a lot of responses from the community and we know they want to see a cleaner environment without polystyrene and plastic waste.

"But at the same time we don't want to create another problem or trouble people by this ban, so we need conduct proper research first,” he said.

Last Jan 3, State Education, Science, Environment and Green Technology committee chairman Datuk Dr Muhammad Amin Zakaria had Perak will ban the usage of plastic and polystyrene material from cafeterias in government buildings starting in June 2017.