- the bags have long been considered a convenient, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items.
Problems associated with plastic bags include use of non-renewable resources such as crude oil, gas and coal difficulties during disposal, and environmental impacts. Concurrently with the reduction in lightweight plastic bags, shops have introduced reusable shopping bags.
Governments all over the world have taken action to ban the sale of lightweight bags, charge customers for lightweight bags, or generate taxes from the stores that sell them. The Bangladesh government was the first to do so in 2002, imposing a total ban on lightweight plastic bags. Between 2010 and 2019, the number of public policies intended to phase out plastic carryout bags tripled.
As of 1 January 2020, such bans have been introduced in 74 countries, with varying degrees of enforcement, and 37 countries instead impose a charge per bag. Bans and charges have also been enacted by some local jurisdictions such as states,
Plastic bags cause many minor and major ecological and environmental issues. The most general issue with plastic bags is the amount of waste produced. Many plastic bags end up on streets and subsequently pollute major water sources, rivers, and streams. Even when disposed of properly, they take many years to decompose and break down, generating large amounts of garbage over long periods of time. Improperly discarded bags have polluted waterways, clogged sewers and been found in oceans, affecting the ecosystem of marine creatures.
In Tanzania, environmental partners have commended the government’s interventions to address environmental pollution, including the ban on plastic bags.
“Hearty congratulations to the government of Tanzania for implementing the ban on plastic bags. The development partners group on environment stand ready to continue supporting these efforts,” said Julia Hannig, the representative of development partners on environment during commemoration of the World Environment Day cycling event held at the Mnazi Mmoja grounds in Dar es Salaam.
The cycling event attracted more than 200 cyclers and representatives from UN agencies, the development partners group on environment, civil society, city council officials, philanthropists, youth and private sector entities.
Haning noted that Tanzania has also committed itself to reducing the use of charcoal, the main indoor polluter and cause of over 20,000 deaths per year.
“Many development partners are supporting these efforts and hope that reusing and recycling through improved waste management will be given more attention in the coming days, especially in Dar es Salaam where most of the country’s waste is produced,” she said.
This year’s global theme for World Environment Day—‘Beat air pollution’ is in-line with the government’s ban of single use carrier bags.
“Seven days down the road, the government is quite impressed with the levels of compliance and response from the private sector and public as a whole towards the ban of plastic bags,” said the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Vice President’s Office, Ambassador Joseph Sokoine in his remarks at the same event. Indeed the government made several interventions over the past 15 years to address environmental pollution. The UN Resident Coordinator, Alvaro Rodriguez recognized the strides the government has already made on tackling air pollution, congratulating the current ban of plastic bags and the disposal of plastic bags which can contribute to the challenge of air pollution, beside affecting the marine environment.
The UN leader in Tanzania affirmed that tackling air pollution helps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases as well as improving people’s health. Tanzania is among 155 countries adapting the UN Convention which recognizes a healthy environment as a constitutional right, he said, urging that people to play their part towards eliminating dangerous pollutants that cost lives and weaken the planet’s life systems every day.
_0.jpg?itok=QU87XW8D){kind=tracking}
.jpeg?itok=vCj6bCRe)
