In a joint memorandum, the groups said such regulations were required to limit the leakage of materials like microplastics and plastic pellets which are harmful to the environment and human health.
Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism event and projects officer Wong Si Peng said setting a limit on production was a sustainable move to reduce plastic pollution and ensure the industry’s sustainability.
“Malaysia should not be so concerned about capping production.
“We’re not saying cap it till it’s zero, we’re saying to cap it until a point where you can produce good quality, safe plastics that can last,” she told reporters here today.
Wong, along with representatives from the Consumers’ Association of Penang, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Environmental Protection Society Malaysia, Zero Waste Malaysia, and Zero Waste Sabah submitted the memorandum to MPs outside the Parliament building this morning.
Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung, Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin, and Kuala Langat MP Ahmad Yunus Hairi accepted the memorandum.
The groups also urged the government to agree to a global target to limit the use of hazardous chemicals in plastic production, with the eventual goal of phasing them out entirely.
Currently, only 6% of all known chemicals used in plastics manufacturing are regulated.
The groups expressed concern about the prevalence of microplastics in the environment, which have been found in seafood and the faeces of infants.
SAM honorary secretary S Mageswari said these chemicals do not degrade easily and would accumulate in the natural environment.
She said while there were international laws regulating some chemicals, many plastic-related chemicals were not included in those conventions.
“This (proposed) Global Plastic Treaty can help identify and provide management plans to phase out and eventually eliminate these hazardous materials,” she said.
The groups also called on the government to negotiate constructively with other countries and cautioned against alignment with the “most obstructive and least ambitious countries”.
Next month, government representatives, including from Malaysia, will meet in Geneva to negotiate the provisions of the proposed Global Plastics Treaty.
Negotiations last year stalled due to objections to certain provisions raised by oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia.