Tikoduadua: Adhere to plastic ban

The ban on single use plastic has resulted in a massive decrease in litter problems for the council. Isikeli Tikoduadua Suva and Lami special administrator

Suva and Lami special administrator Isikeli Tikoduadua urged market vendors in the Suva Municipal Market to adhere to the single use plastic ban. He said by now people would have a clear knowledge on what a single use plastic bag was. Mr Tikoduadua said women groups at the market were retailing bags which could be used as alternatives.

“The ban on single use plastic has resulted in a massive decrease in litter problems for the council,” he said.

“I hope vendors refrain from using it as a means to packing vegetables for their customers. There are hefty fines according to the law.”

Mr Tikoduadua said plastic was a big pollution concern and hoped people of Suva would realise this and changed their habits.

He said that he hoped food retailers and restaurants would slowly start phasing out styrofoam containers and plastic straws since the commencement of the ban on those two items would be at the start of the new year.

Meanwhile, a team from the Department of Environment took a surprise investigation trip into the Suva Municipal Market complex last Friday.

They checked the size of the plastic bags that vendors were using. Permanent Secretary Joshua Wycliffe said it was an opportunity to investigate the whole noncompliance situation.

In a radical approach, the noncompliant vendor was confronted, questioned and the goods confiscated in public, they were summoned to also attend a restorative conference.

The exercise ensured that the offenders were put through a compulsory compliance education session, followed by a warning that re-offending would result in strict penalties.

The visit on Friday also revealed that factories were still manufacturing single use plastic bags lesser than 50 microns in thickness.