President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has deferred several deadlines for restrictions on single-use plastics, following recommendations from the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy.
Under Presidential Decree No. 15/2026, the ban on importing single-use plastic drinking straws has been deferred from 1 June 2021 to 1 June 2031. The ban on their production and sale in the Maldives has also been moved from 19 December 2022 to 19 December 2031.
The amendment also revises deadlines for restrictions on certain plastic water bottles.
For water packaged in plastic bottles of 500 millilitres to one litre, the prohibition on import and production has been deferred to 1 December 2029, while the ban on sale has been deferred to 1 June 2030.
The decree also changes the size threshold for another category of plastic bottles from 500 millilitres to 250 millilitres.
As a result, the import, production and sale of pre-packaged beverages, excluding water, in plastic bottles of less than 250 millilitres are now prohibited with immediate effect.
The amendments to the list of single-use plastics deemed harmful to the environment were published in the Government Gazette.