KUCHING: Effective Dec 1, all major supermarkets under the jurisdiction of Kuching South City Council (MBKS) will ban single-use plastic bags during weekends as part of the city council’s green initiatives.
The participating supermarkets include H&L, TA Kiong, Giant, Teck Kong, Unaco, Boulevard Shopping Mall, Everrise and Cold Storage.
“I hope more companies will join this wonderful method to make our environment beautiful,” Kuching South Mayor Dato James Chan said during the Environmental Awareness Week 2018 held at MBKS auditorium here yesterday.
He also urged members of the public to practise 3R – reduce, reuse and recycle – in order to reduce environmental degradation.
“My city council is very committed to doing its utmost to make Kuching South a more pleasant and gracious city to live and work in,” he said.
Recycling of paper reduces air pollution by 74 per cent and water pollution by 35 per cent, while each tonne of paper recycled can save seven small trees and 32,000 litres of water, he said.
During the event, Chan also launched an apps named ‘OOber Recycle Apps’ to assist environment-conscious residents place collection orders for their recyclable items.
By placing collection order through the apps, a designated personnel will be sent to the resident’s home to collect the items before sending them to the recycling centre.
Developed by Triple-C Recycle Sdn Bhd, the apps can be downloaded via Apps Store and Google Play and it is currently available in Sarawak only.