Government has placed a ban on plastics below 20 microns from November, 2015.
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Govt bans the use of plastic products
Government has finally placed a ban on light plastic materials with less than 20 microns
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This follows President John Mahama's earlier statement that Ghana will ban plastic products if producers fail to find means to dispose them properly.
The directive is part of measures to deal with hazards associated with these products and their attendant effect on the eco system.
Mahama Ayariga, Minister of Environment, Innovation Science and Technology, has announced that the ban will take effect from November 1.
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Manufacturers of these plastic bags, he said, must ensure that all products that do not meet the standards are disposed of before the November deadline.
“We have placed a ban on up to 20 microns. Nobody can manufacture plastic products of below 20 microns,” he said.
He added, “You see the ones that they put Gari (kulikuli), those products - the plain, transparent ones - you see that they are so light and when the wind blows they float, it’s because they have very low microns and they are so light so managing it is so difficult so we need to increase the micron level.”
“After 90 days, no plastics should be in the market unless they are biodegradable,” Mr Ayariga said.
According to him, the ministry has engaged the services of 2,000 enforcement officers across the country to ensure the directive is strictly complied with.
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It would be recalled that President John Mahama hinted of government’s readiness to ban the use of plastic if it continued to pollute the environment.
According to him, the plastic materials are currently the main pollutants of the environment and called for a proper management of plastic waste in the country.
“Plastics have become such a pollutant in our environment that if the producers of plastics don’t do something about it then we would have to go the Rwanda way.
“In Rwanda plastics are banned, nobody uses plastics and yet they are surviving. And so we need to come out with a solution this plastic thing. If we can’t handle and manage plastic waste then we must ban it so that we don’t have plastic waste at all.”
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