Statement on ban of single-use plastic bags

MUSCAT:

The Environment Authority has issued a statement regarding the implementation of banning the use of single-use plastic shopping bags.

A statement issued online by Environment Authority said, “In the manufacture of plastic products, many organic materials such as bisphenol and vinyl chloride increase the chances of miscarriage and reduce testosterone levels in the body. Six days to start implementing the decision to ban the use of single-consumption plastic shopping bags No. 23/2020.”

“According to a research study conducted by the Chemicals Department, plastic bags are made of polyethylene which does not decompose and is a harmful substance that may cause some types of diseases,” the authority added.

The plastic that is made within two minutes and used for a just 20 minutes, needs 400 years to decompose in nature. Only about 8 per cent of it reaches landfills and the rest is ends up in the air, on trees, beaches other open places and seas harming and killing wild animals including marine creatures, it pointed out.