Ministry working on 3 court cases in relation to the supply of banned plastic bags

Permanent Secretary for Environment, Joshua Wycliffe says prosecutors are working on three court cases in relation to the supply of banned plastic bags which includes one manufacturer.

Wycliffe says if we want to stop the usage of plastic bags then we have to close the tap and if there is a manufacturer who continues to manufacture it then they will take them to task.

He says this is exactly what the prosecutors at the Department of Environment are doing.

Wycliffe says they hope this action will raise awareness and at the same time reduce the amount of plastic bags being supplied to the market.

A person who manufactures a plastic bag commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $500,000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 7 years or both.

A person who sells, supplies or distributes a single-use plastic bag to another person or makes a plastic bag available to a customer for carrying goods purchased, or to be purchased, from a retailer, commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $150,000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or both.