Morocco’s landmark plastic bag ban legislation comes into force effective July 1st

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): Morocco’s landmark legislation banning use of plastic bags has come into force effective July 1^st, 2016. Earlier in October last year, the parliament had passed the legislation which forbids the country from production, import, sale and distribution of plastic bags. The country is presently the second largest consumer of plastic bags after the US. Morocco follows other African nations such as South Africa, Uganda, Somalia and Rwanda which have already imposed similar plastic bag ban.

According to Moroccan Industry Ministry, the plastic bag consumption rate in Morocco was alarming, considering the fact that the country is much smaller in size when compared with the US and the countries that follow it in the list. Estimates indicate that the country consumes three billion plastic bags per year. This essentially means that a Moroccan citizen uses 900 plastic bags per year on an average.

The ban is part of the country’s ongoing efforts to go green, thereby reducing environmental impacts caused by improper disposal of plastic bags. Earlier in 2009, the country had imposed ban on production and use of black plastic bags. However, the ban ended in a failure, mainly on account of the failure from authorities to curtail informal production of such bags. The recent legislation to ban plastic bags comes just ahead of the global climate change conference scheduled to be held in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh in November.

The Moroccan Industry Minister noted that freezer bags will remain excluded from the ban. Also, several alternative solutions including paper and fabric bags will be made available for citizens to minimize the impact of outright implementation of the ban. He further added that awareness campaigns have been running throughout the country to warn citizens about the dangers of using plastic bags. These campaigns have highlighted the message that plastic bags are unhealthy and dangerous for the ecosystem, taking hundreds of years to degrade.

Meantime, industry participants alleged that the government has not done enough to raise environmental awareness through the campaigns. Although some campaigns about littering were done, the level of such campaigns was poor to create an impact among citizens. The citizens must be adequately educated about the concerns for any system to become effective, he added. The UN Environmental Performance Review of Morocco too noted that Morocco has failed to effectively address environmental challenges since 2012.

The blanket ban on plastic bags is feared to lead to nearly 50,000 job losses in the country’s plastic industry. Opponents of the ban also state that the result of the ban could be detrimental, in spite of the benefits that it offers. The country may take some time to get used to the ban, they noted. The formal sector is expected to take at least four to five years to comply with the new law.

As per estimates by Earth Policy Institute, over 1 trillion plastic bags are used across the world every year. This essentially means that nearly 2 million plastic bags are used every minute around the world. The US is the top consumer of plastic bags. An average American family takes home approximately 1,500 plastic bags a year. According to the Wall Street Journal, Americans use and throw away 100 billion plastic bags every year. UNEP studies suggest that every square mile of world’s oceans contains nearly 46,000 pieces of plastics floating in it.