Support team to aid transition to environmentally friendly bags in Oman

Muscat: The head of the Environment Authority has decided to form a support team for the transition to the use of environmentally friendly bags and to set up a mechanism to ban the use of plastic shopping bags during the coming period.

His Excellency Dr. Abdullah bin Ali bin Abdullah Al Omari, the Head of the Environment Authority, issued an administrative decision No. (61/2021) to form a team to support the transition to the use of environmentally friendly bags. A statement by the EA said: "The team will be responsible for setting up a mechanism to prohibit the use of plastic shopping bags during the coming period, and to avoid the challenges resulting from the excessive consumption of 50 micron plastic shopping bags, in order to reach the objectives envisaged by the implementation of the decision."

"The team also will assesses the current situation of plastic waste management in the Sultanate and come up with a clear vision regarding its management in an integrated and sustainable system in coordination and cooperation with the relevant authorities, directing factories and suppliers to the alternatives approved by the EA, which are cloth, paper and cotton pages. The team will support the direction of suppliers for environmentally friendly bags and manufacturers to open production lines for eco-friendly bags."

The team will also support the implementation of compliance with the requirements of the decision in preparation for the implementation of the ban on the circulation of all plastic and environmentally friendly shopping bags in the local markets, and submit monthly reports to the President of the Environment Authority, explaining the accomplished work and recommendations.