Muscat: The Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA) has called for the need to replace plastic shopping bags with environmentally friendly ones. It also called for the continuous sterilization of all shopping bags.
MECA said that the Covid -9 virus can stay on plastic bags for three days.
Quoting a study by the New England Journal of Medicine, MECA said that people may acquire the coronavirus through the air and after touching contaminated objects. Scientists discovered the virus is detectable for up to three hours in aerosols, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.
It can live on plastic surfaces from 48 to 72 hours, including plastic shopping bags before it loses its vitality and effectiveness.
As the single-used plastic bags are light and the wind catches them easily, they can be transported far and wide. For this reason, it's essential the amount of plastic bags in circulation is reduced and cut down on single-use plastic waste.
The multi-use reusable bags are made of several materials, such as cloth, paper, and other organic materials. They can also be made of plastic provided that they are used several times (up to 100 times) because of thickness.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
