Life
Haiti announces ban on plastic bags
The government of Haiti has announced a ban on importing, manufacturing and marketing them as of October 1.
“This is a logical decision and makes sense,” Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said. “Importing, manufacturing bio-degradable items will benefit Haiti’s short, mid- and long-term environmental interest.”
Plastic and foam food containers are everywhere in Haiti — clogging canals, cluttering streets and choking ocean wildlife.
In Haiti the black plastic bags are the primary mode for transporting items among Haiti’s poor who shuffle back and forth to open air street markets on an almost daily basis. They also are a key, but dangerous, ingredient in curbside cooking, helping food cook faster. The bags and containers are then dumped haphazardly into canals, turning them into rivers of debris several feet deep.
Environmental groups have been pushing plastic bag bans both internationally and in the United States for some time. The African nation of Rwanda became the first country to ban all plastics in 2008. Mexico City, Bangladesh, and most recently, Toronto are among the largest international cities that have imposed bans.
