Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum agrees that plastic bags need to be phased out completely in Fiji.
While speaking during the Fijian Government Facebook 2019/2020 National Budget consultations, Sayed-Khaiyum said the government has said it will ban the use of single‑use plastics by 2020.
Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum responding to questions on the Fijian Government Facebook page [Photo: Fijian Government]
He says there are a lot of Fijians who will need to make big changes to accommodate this new policy, so they want to give them ample time to prepare for this ban.
Sayed-Khaiyum made these comments after a Year 13 student of Jasper Williams High School asked him if the government plans to regulate supermarkets to provide paper bags instead of plastic bags.
The Minister for Economy says plastic bags are a huge source of litter and waste, and that is why the government has already introduced a levy on plastic bags to discourage their use. He says on top of that, they have been working closely with women’s groups to sew reusable bags in Fiji.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the use of paper bags is a decision that supermarkets can make themselves.
But he says the government wants to encourage the use of recycled paper otherwise we will be cutting down more trees to make paper bags, which is not good for our environment.
