BOGOR. Shopping malls, department stores, supermarkets and other retail outlets in Bogor, West Java, will be required to charge customers who need plastic bags for their shopping items, in an effort to minimize plastic waste.

Bogor Environmental Management Agency (BPLH) head Lilis Sukartini said her institution had distributed the circular to retail companies to introduce the policy, which is expected to become effective in the middle of February.

"Plastic bags are no longer free. If shoppers don't want to pay for plastic bags, just use non-plastic shopping bags," Lilis said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency, adding that with the issuance of the circular, retail companies were expected to immediately prepare to implement the policy.

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A number of cities including Jakarta, Bandung, Bekasi, Depok, Bogor, Tangerang, Solo, Semarang, Surabaya, Denpasar, Palembang, Medan, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, Makassar, Ambon, Papua, Jayapura, Pekanbaru, Banda Aceh, Kendari and Yogyakarta have committed to charging for plastic bags.

She said that the policy would be implemented gradually in Bogor, starting with large retail companies like department stores and extending to traditional markets, small shops and even households.

Monitoring of the policy will be carried out by a number of agencies including the BPLH, market operator PD Pasar Pakuan Jaya and the Sanitation and Parks Agency.

"The Bogor administration has made a commitment to reduce plastic waste. In the future, households cannot use plastic bags to dump domestic waste," Lilis said.