Plastic-free resort planned

We’d like to see one in Singapore.

The state government is considering turning the hill resort here into a plastic-free area to protect its fragile environment.

Polystyrene boxes are another item on the possible ban list, said Pahang exco member Datuk Shafik Fauzan Sharif.

The move, he said, was in line with the recent decision of the state government to ban any form of new development in the highland, which is also known as “Little England”.

“We are studying a proposal by the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) and WWF to make Fraser’s Hill free of these items.

“If the proposal is adopted, we will only allow degradable plastic to be used throughout the hilltop,” he added when met after opening the 23rd International Bird Race event here.

Read more at The Star.

Bangladesh jute gets boost from plastic bag backlash

Jute, a vegetable fibre that is spun into coarse threads, was once known as the “golden fibre” of the British Empire when the Indian sub-continent was ruled from London.

The material’s long decline was hastened in the 1980s with the advent of synthetic fabrics, but the trend is being reversed due to growing opposition to the litter and pollution caused by plastic bags.

Read more at ekantipur.com.