Maldives Declared Ban on Import of Single-Use Plastic Items

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The South Asian nation, Maldives, announced ban on imports of a list of single-use plastic items into the country with effect from 1^st June, 2021. The declaration to this effect was made by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Wednesday.

The import ban will be introduced in phases. The administration targets to phase out single-use plastics from the country by 2023. The declared list of single-use items includes plastic bags, straws and other single-use items. The phase out plan will come into effect in June next year.

The items that will be banned for import effective June 2021 are drinking straws, plates, cutleries and stirrers,styrofoam lunch boxes, 30x30 cm carrier bags, betel nuts in plastic wrapping, coffee cups below 250 ml, cotton wool buds, toiletry bottles below 50 ml and PET beverage bottles below 500 ml. As per plan, bags of less than 50 micron thickness, toiletry bottles below 200 ml and PET beverage bottles below 1 litre will be prohibited from imports effective December 2022.

In addition, the administration is also planning to introduce an extended producer responsibility (EPR) programme and further strengthen the network for collection and recycling of single-use plastics in the country.

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