Government to ban plastic bags in November

Molebatsi stated that the decision to ban plastics was made following several attempts in the past to manage or control the proliferation of plastic carrier bags in the environment. He said that in the past public education and awareness about the proper use of plastic bags to curb littering, promotion of its reduction, reuse, and recycling initiatives and development of compulsory standard (BOBS 186: 2006) regulated plastics based on their thickness.  However, all these measures never yielded positive and sustainable results, said Molebatsi.

Molebatsi also decried the danger of plastic bags in people’s daily lives.  He said plastic bags are non-biodegradable hence once deposited in the soil they stay in the environment for long periods.