A local organization with the interest in environmental protection, has welcomed the decision by the government to ban the use of packaging materials such as plastic bags and their resultant waste.
On Monday, Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection Permanent Secretary Dr. Ed Chomba said this is in accordance with section 58 of the Environmental Management Act No 12 of 2011.
Dr. Chomba emphasized that this is the Extended Producer Regulations which extends the responsibility of the producer of a product or class of products to the post-consumer stage of the product or class of products.
But the Citizens Environment and Social Concern Executive Director Conwell Hakapya tells Money FM News that his organization is urging the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to strictly enforce the ban on the manufacture, trade and commercial distribution of domestically produced and imported plastic carrier and flat bags.
Mr. Hakapya says ZEMA should strictly enforce this SI more especially for those that do not meet the Zambian standard on Plastic Carrier Bags that is ZABS Standard ZS-719 which is 30 microns in thickness with immediate effect.
“You see the ones we have on the market currents range from 8 to 16 microns which we know that they are not sustainable and can’t be recycled. This is a great score for us as we pursue a total ban of single use plastic bags in Zambia,” he said.
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