Action Planning Report

The community problem that our group has come up with and agreed upon is on
the usage of plastic bags in Brunei Darussalam. We’ve also carried out a case study and
surveys to find out the extent of this problem in the country and have concluded that,
such problem is indeed alarming. Hence, our group came up with a few desirable changes
that we want to see in the near future. One of these changes is the introduction of
‘PlasTax’. Countries like Ireland, has imposed tax on plastic bags in order to reduce its
usage. Therefore, if our country could do the same then perhaps, the problem that we’re
facing now could be slowly minimised.

Nevertheless, there will be difficulties for such change to be conveyed. For

example, many people might not agree with it and find it more troublesome. They will
then make complains about it to the government which eventually leaves the government
with no choice but to drop this change. However, this barrier can be overcome by
explaining to the people how serious the problem is now and how it affects the
environment and what’s going to happen in the future if too many plastic bags are
disposed improperly. In other words try to convince them. Other than that, the
government could punish or give warnings to those who do not pay ‘PlasTax’.

There are three steps that are required for this change to be implemented:

Step 1:
Before doing anything else, we must first find out which governmental
department or which ministry is responsible for imposing taxes. Once that is done, we
must then find out the person in charge in dealing with this matter. This step will be done
by our group within a week. We would make use of the telephone directory and ask our
parents about it.

Step 2:
We will then start drafting a letter to suggest the government of this change and
show it to Dr. Irene to get her feedback and approval. Once that is done, we’ll rewrite the
letter and will then start sending it to the concerning department. This step will obviously
be done by our group and also within the range of two weeks. For this step, we would
produce our own resources.

Nonetheless, it will be after a long period of time in order for the change to be
included in the law as it has to go through many procedures. Therefore, while waiting for
the government to approve our appeal, we will be producing a petition regarding this
change and will go around telling and explaining to people about it and asking them to
sign the petition.

Step 3:
Finally is to inform both suppliers and consumers about the issuing of ‘PlasTax’. This
will be done by the government through local radio and television networks (RTB) and/or
perhaps issuing out circulars or letters to shops (suppliers) regarding this matter. This will
probably be done within these two weeks.

However, it will be quite difficult for the people to accept such change in a short
period of time. So, our group suggests that the government could first carry out ‘PlasTax’
within a certain range of time, just to see how it goes. Then only after that, the
government could extend the time range. In that way, eventually people will come to
terms with this change.

Done by:
Dk. Farizah Binti Pg. Wahab
04B2445
Plastic Power Rangers