The Environment Authority’s ban on single-use plastic bags that are less than 50 microns thick came into effect on Monday. This follows Order No. (8/2024) issued on January 24, 2024, which came after studies by EA in coordination with relevant government and private agencies.
A decision was taken in order to preserve Oman’s environment as these bags are disposed of wantonly due to their light weight and take thousands of years to decompose.
The first phase will include the pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics sector from July 1, 2024. The second phase will be on January 1, 2025 and includes fabric stores, textiles, clothing stores, tailoring stores, eyeglasses stores, retail stores, mobile phone maintenance, watches selling and maintenance stores, furniture, furnishings and household supplies stores.
Dr Mohammed bin Majid al Kasbi, Director of the Department of Chemicals and Waste Management at the Environment Authority, said: “The importance of this decision comes in preserving the environment and protecting wildlife. This is also in line with the Oman 2040 vision to manage plastic products and their waste.”
This decision is in line with the direction of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management and relevant international agreements such as the Stockholm Convention and the Basel Convention. Oman and other countries have taken action to get rid of the plastic pollution epidemic.
Article 3 of the decision imposes a fine of not less than RO 50 and not more than RO 1,000 on anyone who violates the provisions of the decision, and the fine is doubled in the event of a repeat violation.
The Consumer Protection Authority recently issued a notice confirming its keenness to monitor the markets to avoid raising prices of environmentally-friendly bags and confirming the availability of reusable cheaper green alternatives like paper and cloth.
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