Zimbabwe, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, also launched a plastic ban.
On November 12, 2021, the country’s Environmental Management Agency (EMA) issued a notice to inform the Federation of Retailers of Zimbabwe (CZR) and the Association of Retailers of Zimbabwe that they plan to ban the use of plastic bags by the end of December 2022, but they have no objection Use reusable shopping bags, some are even made of recycled plastic.
According to the Zimbabwe Environmental Authority (EMA), Zimbabwe generates approximately 300,000 tons of plastic waste each year. A large part of this waste is dumped on streets or other open spaces instead of being recycled or properly disposed of. EMA claims that the use of plastic food containers causes people to suffer from cancer, and that plastic blocks the country’s drainage and sewer systems, especially during the rainy season. The destruction of the environment has hindered the development of local tourism. This ban aims to protect the environment from pollution by plastic bags, because plastic bags are not recyclable.
In fact, as early as 2010, the Zimbabwean government supervised the use of fragile plastic bags, but it was resisted by consumers and ultimately failed. A few years ago, Zimbabwe banned the use of such plastic products after foam lunch boxes were proved to be the main pollutant of the environment. Foam lunch boxes are mainly used for packaging takeaway food in the catering industry. However, this ban has not yet achieved the desired effect, because many small restaurants are still using foam lunch boxes to package food.
In contrast, African countries such as Rwanda have achieved some success in banning the import and use of non-biodegradable plastic bags. In 2017, Kenya banned the import, manufacture and sale of disposable plastic bags. This ban is not complete because it covers what they call In protected areas, Kenya’s plastic ban is not as well advertised. However, Zimbabwe lags behind them.
Now that the Zimbabwean government has decided to ban the use of plastic bags before December 2022, this actually gives retailers and the Zimbabwean public a 12-month buffer period to test and trial solutions before the ban. The Federation of Zimbabwe Retailers also agrees with this idea.
