The Maldives parliament on Wednesday passed a bill to ban the import of single-use plastics through amendments to the Export Import Act.
The bill sponsored by Gan MP Mohamed Visam was approved with the vote of 58 members. No members voted against the bill.
According to the newly approved bill, an import duty of 400 percent will be imposed on biodegradable plastic bags and sacks that are imported during the current year. A duty equivalent to 200 percent of its price will be applied on imported plastic films, sheets, pipes and plates. The bill also called to ban the import of single-use plastics from 2021.
The Maldives parliament previously passed a resolution to declare a climate emergency in the Maldives. The resolution, which was inked based on concerns expressed by Maldivian students regarding the country’s current environmental status, and passed in 2015 calls to ban imports of single-use plastic
