Thin plastics maker withdraws appeal
Thin plastics manufacturer Golden Plastics Limited has withdrawn an appeal it filed in the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal against enforcement of a ban on production of single-use thin plastics.
The move in effect means Malawi Environment Protection Authority (Mepa) can now outlaw production and usage of thin plastics.
When the court convened yesterday in Blantyre, lawyer Frank Mbeta, representing Golden Plastics Limited, told the court that his client had decided to withdraw the appeal.
The nine-member bench, through Justice of Appeal Dorothy Kamanga, accepted the request to withdraw the matter, but ordered the applicants to pay costs of the case.
Speaking in an interview later, Mbeta said he withdrew the appeal after getting instructions from his client.
On the other hand, Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda said: “I am excited that the government can now enforce the ban.”
Mepa acting director general Taonga Mbale Luka said in a separate interview that the authority will enforce and raise awareness about the ban while promoting the use of environmentally-friendly carrier bags.
“We expect manufacturers, distributors and users to comply with the ban,” she said.
The Supreme Court decision has brought to a close the matter which started in 2021 when the High Court of Malawi in Lilongwe vacated an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the ban against manufacturing, distribution, sale, exportation and importation of thin plastic bags of less than 60 microns.
In July 2021, Golden Plastics Limited obtained a stay order that restrained Mepa from implementing the ban pending conclusion of its appeal against the High Court ruling.
However, Mepa applied to have the stay order vacated, but hearing of the application was adjourned several times until April this year when the case resumed.
In April this year, Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda declined Golden Plastics’ application to extend the order when parties appeared before him.
