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Investigating Malaysian stakeholders’ perceptions of the government’s aim to replace conventional plastic bags with biodegradable and compostable bioplastic bags

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Abstract

A transition from petroleum-based plastic bags to biodegradable and compostable bioplastic bags will affect stakeholders across the value chain of the bioplastics industry. This article aims to reveal stakeholders’ concerns on the issues of bioplastic and their suggestions for addressing them. Based on focus group discussions and using the thematic analysis tool, we find that stakeholders’ respective responsibilities, infrastructure and ecosystem, societal mindset, costing, and financial support are important factors in the success of the initiative. We also find that having a uniform policy on bioplastic helps to integrate and coordinate the responsibilities of each stakeholder, while a top-down approach is necessary to stimulate engagement from all stakeholders. We find that, unless there is improvement in transparency and clarity in terms of communication among stakeholders, strengthening collaboration and creating public and private partnerships in terms of research, certification and incentives, the transition may not be successfully achieved.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out as part of a postgraduate study. The authors would like to thank the respondents for their participation in this study.

Funding

This research was supported with a grant from the Ministry of Education Malaysia, under grant no. FRGS/1/2017/SSI12/UKM/02/1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pusat Pengajian Citra Universiti, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Zurina Mahadi, Latifah Amin & Mashitoh Yaacob

  2. Institut Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Emirul Adzhar Yahya & Latifah Amin

  3. Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Hukil Sino

Authors
  1. Zurina Mahadi
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  2. Emirul Adzhar Yahya
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  3. Latifah Amin
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  4. Mashitoh Yaacob
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  5. Hukil Sino
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Correspondence to Zurina Mahadi.

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Mahadi, Z., Yahya, E.A., Amin, L. et al. Investigating Malaysian stakeholders’ perceptions of the government’s aim to replace conventional plastic bags with biodegradable and compostable bioplastic bags. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 23, 2133–2147 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-021-01278-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-021-01278-5

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