MOVES TO BAN SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAGS

MBABANE – A group of mothers is moving for a more environmentally friendly kingdom.
This springs from a petition the group of mothers in the kingdom want signed and submitted to the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, to have single-use plastic bags banned in the country.

One such parent, *Zethu, said she had noticed just how much plastic bags her household accumulated in a short space of time and how her children were getting accustomed to a lifestyle that did not foster green habits.

“You never realise how much plastic bags you use until you try going green. It was a gradual process for my family and we are still experimenting with other things but the journey has been rewarding. The petition for the ban is the first step towards moving closer to a cleaner Eswatini that will compliment the King’s Vision of 2022. Household participation is necessary to push the country to implement more green habits,” she said. She said she had stopped using plastic bags two years ago and her children got used to the new ways in the home fairly quicker than she had originally expected.

Generations

She said a group of mothers had come together to make the country realise it was time to be intentional in its efforts and that attaining First World status meant the country had to be clean and green, for the future generations.  Communications Officer in the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Baphelele Dlamini, said they could only comment on the petition upon receiving it.

“The ministry itself has been working on clean-up campaigns and to that accord, the ministry, through its parastatal, Eswatini Environment Authority, will be hosting a clean-up campaign launch for the country in Nhlangano next week Thursday,” Dlamini said.

Just last week, the Minister (of Tourism and Environmental Affairs), Moses Vilakati, as well as that of Sports, Culture and Youth, Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga, met with a group of young directors of a company that used all forms of plastic and sand to make paving bricks.  When asked what had prompted the action, one of the directors, Sibusiso Ndlangamandla, said they had seen that the country had growing problems with plastic in general and there had to be a solution, and that was how they came up with the idea as friends.

The ministers were impressed with their project.
Vilakati said, “The government is in full support of the waste recycling project by Mdoda Environmental Concepts as it is in line with the national efforts to protect the environment, have the capacity to deal squarely with plastic waste and create jobs.”

This comes at a very timely hour as July 1 marked New Zealand’s decision to ban all single-use plastic shopping bags in that country and businesses that continued to use them would pay a heavy fine.

Countries such as Kenya, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe and cities such as Montreal in Canada, Seattle and Malibu in the United States of America have successfully implemented the ban, with Kenya imposing the harshest plastic bag ban of US$38 000 fine (an equivalent of E534 147.34) or up to four years in prison for anyone who is found producing, selling or using plastic bags. This harsh ban has, however, prompted very creative solutions. 

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