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Zambia Take a ‘Leaf’: Mauritania Bans Plastic Bag Use
Mauritania has banned the use of plastic bags to protect the environment and the lives of animals and fish.
More than 70% of cattle and sheep who die in the capital, Nouakchott, are killed by eating plastic bags, environment ministry official Mohamed Yahya told BBC Afrique.
Plastic bag manufacturers could be jailed for up to a year.
Plastic makes up a quarter of 56,000 tonnes of waste produced annually in Nouakchott, official statistics show.
Mauritania’s Organization of Consumer Protection head Moctar Ould Tauf said he welcomed the ban, Efe news agency reports.
It was of “particular importance” given the negative impact of plastic bags on the environment, animals and marine species, he said.
Environment Minister Amedi Camara said that nearly all of the plastic package waste is not “collected and is found in the natural environment – land and sea – where they are sometimes ingested by marine species and livestock, causing their death”.
The government, local non-governmental organisations and the UN Programme for Development (UNDP) have been promoting the use of new biodegradable bags, the Mauritanian Information Agency reports.
Anyone using, manufacturing or importing plastic bags could be fined or sentenced to a year in prison, Mr Camara said.
Several African countries, including Rwanda, have already banned the use of plastic bags.
bbc
Posted by
Former Monko Police
January 3, 2013 at 11:17 pm
Bip up Mauritania! Wish pa Zed could learn something
Toya
January 4, 2013 at 12:16 am
i wish plastic bottles,glass n even plastic bags could b recycled in zambia,it pains me to just throw them away knowing they will never rot
serial phone caller
January 4, 2013 at 12:21 am
cattle and sheep ‘who’ die?
19
January 4, 2013 at 1:29 am
Great Move.
Democrat
January 4, 2013 at 5:18 am
@serial phone caller, good you noticed that grammar. I equally wanted to comment over the same. Since when did animals become humans to use ‘who’ instead of ‘which’ or ‘that?’
Village Chicken
January 4, 2013 at 6:12 am
PF and Sata can add this as a second good deed after Nkandu Luo banned the universal spirit- tujilijili.
tekabolapanshi
January 4, 2013 at 11:13 am
either recycle and create jobs or ban them and still create jobs for hand made enviro-friendly bags
Umupandapwiti
January 4, 2013 at 3:25 pm
They should also ban condoms because the equally bad to the environment.
kakolwe
January 6, 2013 at 7:53 am
ehehehe! Never thought of a condom as a plastic bag! @Umupandapwiti, ukafulungana. LOL! So kukabako paper condom! Singapore has had a ban
kakolwe
January 6, 2013 at 7:58 am
Meant to finish my post as ‘…Singapore has had a ban on chewing gum in some cities for sometime now.’