According to Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida), the plastic industry currently consists of 1,500 manufacturers whereas resin consumption increased to1.9 million tonnes from 1.85 million tonnes in 2006, giving a per capita resin consumption of 75 kg.

Plastic has created just too much controversy in Malaysia from its health and environmental impact. In addition to that, it is just a recent trend in Malaysia after the petroleum boom.

The fact is Malaysia subsisted for so many years on paper, glass and metal-based materials before the plastic domination. Moreover, with depleting petroleum reserves and the environmental impact of the plastic polymers themselves, it is wise for the government to make a strong move forward to promote this industry?

Do we have legislation for this?

The new Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act 2007 and the Environment Protection Act 1974 are sufficient instruments to remove plastcis out of the consumer consumption chain.

Why we need to make this move?

Plastic, which is petroleum-based in general, has an economic impact on the country. The higher the petroleum price, the higher the cost for plastic-based materials. If the Malaysian population is hooked on plastics, it is going to be much more difficult to change after it is too late.

There are many claims from plastic manufacturers that plastic can be easily recycled. But the recycling rate is still low and many of the waste ends up in the landfills and eventually in our drinking water.

We literally buy rubbish when we go shopping. Only a very small number of these manufacturers have been carrying out some form of a ‘take back policy’. They point the finger at consumers and the story goes on ad on.

The health impact of plastic materials is also there. With heat, plastic chemicals are bound to be freed into many mediums such as food and drinks. This fundamental pollution takes place when these plastics are thrown into rivers and are buried underground.

They do not bio-degrade but release certain chemicals that enter groundwater and river water. Some 95 percent of our raw water supply is from rivers and some of these chemicals are not even listed in WHO’s list for drinking quality standard.

Some of these chemicals pose a health hazard if taken regularly as these chemicals have the ability to accumulate in the body. This matter was discussed at a National Workshop for Improving Drinking Water Quality Standard organised by the health ministry in Jun 2008.

Water treatment companies simply cannot test everything. The source of the problem must be weeded out.

Fomca’s suggestion is to have a five- year plan to halve plastic usage in main consumer consumption and introduce an effective recycling trend. Here are some measures we could take:

- Ban plastic shopping bags. Shopping plastic bags can be replaced with our own cotton cloth- based bags or even paper bags.

- Plastic-based containers and packaging materials can be successfully replaced with paper, glass and metal-based materials. These materials are reusable and longer-lasting. There are also palm oil fibre products for packaging.

- Effectively introduce a mandatory ‘take back policy’ for plastic products. Many electronic products come with plastic-based frames. These materials should not end up in landfills and should be effectively recycled to supply to the demand market.

- Dependency on raw material from petroleum should also be reduced.

The plastics industry should take the challenge to create a better life cycle for their products and ensure recycled plastics are used in their product manufacturing. This is only specific for the electrical and electronic industry.

Such good moves can be assisted by Sirim with eco-labelling and be given pioneer status.

The plastics industry in Malaysia should move on to a more effective status rather than being the same old industry. It should conduct a proper and thorough Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for their products.

Many innovative moves have been introduced in Japan, South Korea, and mainly Europe which are successful. To be a First Word country, we need fundamental changes in many aspects.

The writer is president, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca).