The government has banned the import and manufacture of plastic bags thinner than fifty microns and supari packaged in plastic bottles. These items have been banned under a decree issued by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.
The Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy stated that the import and manufacture of plastic supari bottles and plastic bags thinner than 50 microns for shopping have been banned from January 1, as part of its policy to reduce environmentally harmful single-use plastics. The two products will be banned from the market in June this year.
Additionally, the import and production of plastic bottled water of one liter and less than one liter will be banned in August and the products will be banned from the market after November. The import and manufacture of supari packaged in plastic will be banned from June 1.
The previous government began banning ban single-use plastics (SUPs), which are prohibited from being imported, manufactured and marketed in the Maldives under the Waste Management Act. However, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu issued a decree announcing the revised list of Single-Use Plastics (SUPs) detrimental to the environment on December 1. The decree identified 14 specific SUP items — which include plastic items and those manufactured with plastic — as harmful to the environment, and outlines the dates on which their import, manufacture, and sale will be prohibited. With this Decree, the President repealed the previous regulations defining environmentally harmful SUPs and governing their manufacture, import, and marketing in the Maldives.