During the Sarawak Civil Service Quality Awards (AKPANS) that took place in January 2022, Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) bagged silver of the 2021 Enforcement Excellence Award for its ‘Say No to Plastic Straw’ campaign.
The campaign that has been enforced at food and beverage outlets under the council’s jurisdiction since January 2020 is part of SMC’s efforts to transform Sibu into a clean, beautiful and safe city.
Specifically, this vision is being achieved through its collaboration among its stakeholders – whether in ensuring full compliance among shop owners or in educating residents on reducing plastic pollution.
It is also one of several highly recognised initiatives that it carries out to guarantee Sibu’s liveability and sustainability via environmental protection and conservation, which it has been actively promoting and implementing since 2008.
Enhancing Waste Management and Environment Control Activities
In its Enforcement Excellence Award presentation on the ‘Say No to Plastic Straw’ campaign provided to RAKAN Sarawak, SMC cites reasons aside from the above behind the development of the initiative.
Among them relates to improving waste management in its municipal area, particularly because prior to the campaign, administration costs of managing solid waste was high; around 19.8 per cent of waste composition was plastic items; and there was a need to extend the lifespan of the sanitary waste disposal site in Kemuyang, among others.
The campaign is created in accordance with its environmental policy, which essentially outlines SMC’s commitment “to improve solid waste and environmental management by complying with related all environmental laws and regulations”.
Additionally, the decision to eliminate single-use plastic straws complements other existing environmental efforts focusing on reducing and managing waste, including house-to-house collection of recyclable waste; a ban on non-recyclable polystyrene food containers; and programmes to cut down on single-use plastic bags.
Establishing and Strengthening Campaign Effectiveness
Ensuring the effectiveness of the ‘Say No to Plastic Straw’ campaign began within SMC, in which standard operating procedures regarding the prohibition of the use of plastic straws in food and beverage premises were created, documented and included in the organisation’s enforcement work process.
A series of meetings and dialogues among relevant councillors and council staff followed to understand and practise these procedures before the launch of the campaign in April 2019.
Such discussions were also conducted two months after the start of the green initiative to review its implementation and procedures.
In line with one of its principles of practice of working in smart partnership, SMC also prioritised strategic collaboration with its stakeholders to guarantee the success of the campaign, namely business associations, markets and organising committees in major local events such as the Borneo Cultural Festival.
Through this collaboration, numerous programmes, exhibitions and other publicity drives were organised to create and heighten awareness of eliminating the use of plastic straws among residents in the municipal area.
By the time the campaign was officially enforced on 1 January 2020, SMC has included the ban on single-use plastic straws as one of the licencing conditions for food and beverage operators in areas under the council.
Failure to comply with the ruling will result in the confiscation of plastic straws and issuance of compound of RM50 to errant operators, and even a revocation of licence by the council should the offence be made three times.
Impact of Saying No to Plastic Straws
Since the ban on single-use plastic straws was enforced, as of August 2021 SMC has organised 93 programmes to introduce and create awareness of the ‘Say No to Plastic Straw’ campaign.
It has also conducted 4,618 inspections on eateries in its area between 2020 and 2021 (up to July), with a total of 91 stocks of plastic straws confiscated.
Overall, as of July 2021, the council has managed to issue zero compound, revoke zero licence, and report at least 90 per cent compliance among food and beverage outlets operating within its jurisdiction.
As the first local authority in East Malaysia to do away with plastic straws, SMC’s enforcement success has encouraged other councils in Sarawak to follow suit, including Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC), Miri City Council (MCC) and Kuching South City Council (MBKS).
