A WEBINAR on reducing the use of disposable plastics was held with stakeholders in Shah Alam through the Collaborative Action for Single-Use Plastic Prevention in Southeast Asia (CAP SEA) initiative.

The virtual event was organised by Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) in collaboration with Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Centre (MGTC) and German agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in conjunction with the city’s 21st anniversary celebrations.

“The webinar aims to provide participants with comprehensive exposure on single-use plastics and raise awareness among the Shah Alam community on the negative impact of the continued use of this material on the environment,” said MBSA Corporate and Public Relations Division head Shahrin Ahmad in a statement.

“The platform gave various stakeholders, including government agencies and private companies, space to share opinions and find solutions to reduce the impact of single-use plastics in the long term.”

He said MBSA was chosen as a pioneer city for the CAP SEA project in Malaysia by MGTC based on criteria such as target group’s readiness as well as commitment by business, industry and government groups.

Christoffer Brick from GIZ gave a detailed introduction to CAP SEA, the city council’s Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Department director Mohd Azmi Amer Khan spoke on MBSA’s waste management and direction while Nor Haswani Kamis from the Environment and Water Ministry delivered a talk on initiatives to address plastic pollution.

Other speakers were Sarifah Yaacob from AM PM International Sdn Bhd and Hamdi Mokhtar from Zero Waste Living Lab Malaysia, who respectively spoke on “Benchmark Study on Single-Use Plastics in Shah Alam” and “Pilot Project for Reusing Business Model in Shah Alam”.

Webinar participants comprised representatives from Housing and Local Government Ministry, Environment and Water Ministry, Selangor government, National Solid Waste Management Department, SWCorp Malaysia, KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd, local councils, manufacturers, mall operators, supermarket and mini market owners, non-governmental organisations and companies.“MBSA’s programmes include campaigns to avoid single-use plastics at all Selangor government agencies and departments as well as the plastic-free and plastic straw-free campaign statewide,” said Shahrin.

He added that for Shah Alam ratepayers, there were programmes on waste separation at source as well as community recycling centres.

Source : The Star