Government to enforce plastic bags ban

With the June 30 deadline just two weeks away, government has said there will be no compromise on enforcing the ban on the production, importation, distribution and use of plastic bags in the country.

Government banned the use of plastic bags in April 2013.

However, the ban was not enforced until August last year because plastic manufacturers were given a breather to prepare for the ban.

When government wanted to enforce the ban last year, plastic manufacturers challenged the enforcement in court arguing the then minister of Environment and Climate Change Halima Daud had extended the ban to June.

In an interview on the sidelines of the World Environmental Day commemoration on Friday in Balaka, Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Bright Msaka insisted that the end of plastic bags in Malawi has come.

He said: “We are not looking back. We gave the companies enough time to prepare themselves. June 30 is deadline and we are enforcing the ban.”

The ban of plastic bags with a thickness of less than 60 microns is a critical global environmental issue because the papers are difficult to dispose of and hazardous to health.

Environmentalists recommend paper bags, cloth bags and sisal bags as an alternative to plastic bags because they can be reused and are biodegradable.

The Nation visited some shops in Blantyre and noted that some retailers have already started issuing paper bags to their customers.

Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (Cepa) executive director William Chanza has said the ban is good for the country and Malawians, from all sectors, need to work together to observe it.