A supermarket in Suva has been warned by the Minister for Environment Doctor Mahendra Reddy to stop using single-use plastic bags which has been banned from the 1st of January this year.
This warning was given during a random inspection by a team from the Department of Environment led by Doctor Reddy.
They found single-use plastic bags in the frozen meat and fruits and vegetable section in the supermarket.
The inspection team included the Acting Permanent Secretary for Environment Ritesh Dass, Director Environment Sandeep Singh and Senior Environment Officer Rahul Dutt.
Doctor Reddy says they have given the supermarket time to clean up their act.
The supermarket has not commented.
These inspections will continue today.
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.
Customers who wish to have their purchases packed in approved plastic bags, that is 50 microns and above in thickness and has a handle, will have to pay 50 cents for a bag.
A micron is a unit of measurement with 1,000 microns in a millimetre.
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