Africa-Press – Malawi. The Malawi Environment Protection Agency (Mepa) has blamed the continued prevalence of thin plastics on the market on smuggling.
Mepa Director General Wilfred Kadewa was speaking in Lilongwe ahead of World Environment Day, which falls on Thursday.
This year’s World Environment Day will be celebrated under the theme ‘Eliminate Plastic Pollution’.
According to Kadewa, most of the smuggled thin plastics are entering the country through the porous border in Mchinji.
He said that since February 10, when local authorities announced the enforcement of the thin plastic ban, Mepa has conducted over 40 inspections and reinspections of manufacturers and supermarkets in cities.
The Mepa chief said over 35 manufacturers inspected are from Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu, and over eight are from districts such as Balaka, Ntcheu and Mangochi.
He added that three firms were found not to be complying with the thin plastic ban, with two fined K5 million each and one fined K3 million.
Mepa Board Chairperson Robert Kafakoma said Malawians have a crucial role to play in the elimination of thin plastics.
Kafakoma said Malawians need to say no to thin plastics by embracing alternatives such as paper bags.
Between 2015 and May 2021, the government was restrained from implementing the regulations due to an injunction prohibiting enforcement.
In May 2021, the High Court’s Commercial Division in Lilongwe vacated the injunction prohibiting enforcement of the thin plastics regulations and dismissed the judicial review challenging the legality of the regulations by the applicant Golden Plastics Limited.
Thereafter, the government proceeded with inspections and enforcement actions as part of the implementation of the plastics regulations.
However, around July 2021, Golden Plastics obtained a stay order at the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal preventing enforcement of the High Court judgement until an appeal of that judgment was heard and concluded at the Supreme Court.
On January 31, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the case was an abuse of the court process.
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