Selangor shoppers swap single-use plastic for reusable bags

SHAH ALAM - The collection of plastic bag charges received by the Selangor Government has shown a consistent downward trend over a three-year period, from RM13.35 million in 2023 to RM6.97 million in 2025.

State Public Health and Environment Exco Jamaliah Jamaluddin said the total collection in 2024 was recorded at RM9.04 million, bringing the total collection for the period 2023 to 2025 to RM29.36 million.

She said the drop in collection by almost half reflected changes in consumer behavior, which increasingly prioritised the use of reusable bags when shopping, in line with efforts to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags.

"Based on these developments, the state government believes that the Plastic-Free Campaign and the Plastic Bag Charge Collection Programme have succeeded in raising public awareness and encouraging the use of reusable bags.

"The trend of decreasing plastic bag charge collection also shows a change in consumer behavior towards reducing the use of single-use plastic bags,” she said at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly Session today.

She was responding to a question by Leong Tuck Chee (PH-Pandamaran) on the effectiveness of the campaign to reduce the use of plastic bags and the amount of collection collected by the state government through the Plastic Bag Charge Collection Programme.

Jamaliah said the Plastic-Free Campaign, launched in Selangor in 2010, alongside the Plastic Bag Charge Collection Programme introduced in 2020, has driven positive shifts in public awareness and private sector participation.

"Although there is no specific study that measures the reduction in the use of plastic bags as a whole, the state government is using the collection trend to encourage the Plastic Bag Charge Programme as one of the indicators of changing consumer behaviour,” she said. - BERNAMA