The proposed amendment bill to the Waste Management Act to reduce the fee on plastic bags from USD0.13 to USD0.03 has been forwarded to a Parliament Committee of the Whole House for consideration.
The amendment was proposed by Parliamentarian Ahmed Saleem to reduce the fee on plastic bags from USD0.13 to USD0.03. The plastic bag fee came into effect on April 18 under the Waste Management Act. As such, every business activity operating in the Maldives is required to charge a fee of USD0.13 as a plastic bag fee. It has resulted in a huge price hike for plastic bag bundles, which has risen from USD1.6 per bundle with 100 plastic bags to USD15.
Regarding the proposed amendment, Saleem said that the USD0.13 fee was introduced at a time when the global price of goods began soaring. He proposed various solutions such as granting exemptions for plastic bags used for carrying raw fish and waste as well as making the law less burdensome for retail stores and hotels. He added that the fee can be changed from year to year.