Advertisers sought for takeaway food boxes
A PENANG state executive councillor is trying to get companies to advertise on biodegradable lunch boxes so that hawkers could buy them at a cheaper price.
State Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the market price now for 100 boxes was RM20 of which hawkers need to pay only RM18 with discount vouchers from the state government.
He said companies have to pay only RM2,500 to advertise on 25,000 boxes.
Phee said the names of advertisers would also be listed on the state government’s green campaign website for at least a year.
He said hawkers need then only pay 10 sen per box as 50% of the cost is absorbed by the advertisments.
“I want to help these hawkers as much as possible to encourage them to stop using polystyrene containers,” Phee said.
He said there were 18 outlets in Penang where hawkers could purchase the biodegradable boxes, adding that the list of outlets had been distributed to them.
On the state government’s ban on the usage of polystyrene containers in all 118 local council food courts, he said awareness programmes would be carried out this month and next followed by an “educational period” in September and October.
He said warnings would be issued in November and December to hawkers who continued using such containers followed by enforcement of the ban from January next year.
To promote the use of tiffin carriers, he had asked a food court in his Sungai Puyu constituency to hold a lucky draw for its loyal customers every last Saturday of the month which offer tiffin carriers as prizes.
The Star - July 7, 2010
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/7/7/north/6617617&sec=North
Daftarlah Sebagai Rakan DAP! 
http://greenstate.penang.gov.my
