Seychelles prohibit disposable plastic straws

In another environmental push, Seychelles bans single-use plastic straws

Press release 09.06.2018

The Seychelles are continuing their strategy to reduce plastic waste in the island nation and have banned the import of single-use plastic straws, a top Environment Ministry official said.
The ban includes straws used in cocktails and other drinks, but not plastic straws attached to juice packs, said Nanette Laure, the Director General of the Waste Disposal and Permitting Department.
Retailers have until January 2019 to use up their existing stocks.

09.06.2018

Seychellen.com

Author:
Karl Schnürch

Translation of the original:
Karl Schnürch

Source:
Own research
Seychelles.digital

Seychelles News Agency

The ban was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting on Wednesday and Laure said the ban was in line with Seychelles' efforts in waste management.

"We will start an intensive education programme because we also need to offer alternatives to importers instead of just saying we are imposing a ban," she added.

Banning straws has become popular in cities and countries around the world as a way to reduce single-use plastics and protect animals, especially in the oceans. The United Kingdom recently banned plastic straws.
Laure said that there are alternatives such as those made from bamboo and paper that could be imported, and that although the alternatives are more expensive when "we buy from the market, they will have a long-term benefit as it costs less to remove them in the environment".
She added that the authority will draft regulations that will guide the ban in the same way as the one for plastic bags.

Plastic straws attached to juice packs will be exempt from the ban.
In a recent interview with SNA last month, the association's president, Sybille Cardon, had said: "For 2018 the main objective of our federation is waste management. We want this to be high on our agenda as waste management was not mentioned in the President's speech this year."

"Straws are easy, but we know this also takes time as we need to educate people on why we need to use greener alternatives," Chairman Cardon told SNA.
She said the association is targeting straw as it is cheap and alternatives are readily available and that the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association will import biodegradable straws to sell to establishments.

In September 2016, the Seychelles Cabinet of Ministers decided to ban imports of Styrofoam takeaway boxes and plastic items such as carrier bags, plates, cups and cutlery. The ban came into force in January last year.

Author: Karl Schnürch

In 2007 I started the website Seychelles.com to write everything I experienced from my head. Since then I have been constantly optimizing and expanding Seychelles.com to eventually present a complete picture of Seychelles on this site.