Kapitan Tan Yit Sheng
KUCHING (July 18): Kuching Coffeeshop and Restaurant Owners Association hopes the local authorities will discuss ways to best implement plastic straw ban without increasing cost of operation.
Although the association welcomed the move to ban plastic straws, the cost of biodegradable and compostable straws which are definitely much higher than plastic straw was a cause for concern for members struggling with rising cost of operation from raw ingredients to higher wages.
“We would like to use biodegradable and compostable straws in our daily operations, but is there any way the authorities can help us use them without incurring extra cost?” its education chief Kapitan Tan Yit Sheng voiced out when contacted yesterday.
He hoped the local authorities would meet and talk with eatery operators to find the best course of action to take when the ban of plastic straws is implemented in Kuching by year-end.
“While we understand that all of us need to play a role in taking care of our environment, we also have to think about our income too. I believe a solution can be found. All it takes is discussion between the local authorities and eatery business owners,” he said.
The local authorities in Sarawak have looked into rice, tapioca and paper straws as alternatives to plastic straws.
Kuching South City Council (MBKS) is reviving its initiative to reduce plastic waste by pushing the use of straws made from rice.
Kuching South mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng revealed Saturday that the rice straw initiative which started before the Covid-19 pandemic had prevented more than 1.5 million plastic straws from entering landfills and waterways here.
According to Tan, 100 plastic straws cost only 80 sen compared to paper straws which cost RM2 for every 100, about 20 per cent increase in operating cost.
Although he did not know the cost of rice straws, Tan was sure it would cost more than plastic ones, and suggested the local authorities come up with other alternatives instead.
“Local authorities can educate the public not to use drinking straws when dining in by holding campaigns and putting up educational posters amongst others.
“Educating the public is something which the local authorities can do but is beyond the capacity of eatery operators,” he added.