Environmentalist lauds ban on plastics

Many have expressed mixed feelings about the ban and argued that the ban may not be lasting, effective and sustainable. The argument is that the ban has gone into effect without alternative biodegradable material in the market.

This degradable material which the ministry promised will be made available had not been circulated before the deadline; rather some manufacturers want the deadline extended by one year to prepare biodegradable materials.

The plastic bags as seen in the write-up we published in 2012 had become a nuisance to the environment and health of Cameroonians and so many people not just environmentalists, had wanted the plastic bags outlawed and withdrawn from circulation by recycling.

The Minister for the sector of environment recommended plantain, ‘gongo’ and other plant leaves as substitutes. According to officials of the ministry of environment, people can return to the original tying material that was not harmful to human life and environment. That is the natural leaves of plants like plantains, ‘mekaranga’, ‘gongo and others which are readily found in villages.

By observation, some environmentalists describe this proposals as inappropriate given that some of the plants are scarce and may not sustain the equivalent high use of plastic bags in local markets as there is a danger of harvesting these plants to extinction.

“For the local leaves used for parceling here in Buea, we have the ‘gongo’, ‘mekaranga’ and plantain leaves that were used in those days. I cared to look around even before the ban and planted some ‘mekaranga’ trees here after I discovered that the trees were even getting extinct before the ban. I am sure if the ministry had made some findings to this effect it would have discovered that stocks of plants that supply tying leaves in local areas will run out within weeks”, Masango Sone, the Executive Director of GREEN Cameroon told TFV.

Like most of those interviewed, Masango said the best alternative would have been for the government to take up the challenge, produce biodegradable material and recycle the existing plastic papers rather than throwing it into the hands of unknown manufacturers who just care about business and gain.

Like other environmentalists, Sone regrets that over-exploitation may just take us back to where we did not expect.

Manufacturers present their own program To make things worse on the eve of the implementation of the ban, some manufactures mostly from the economic capital, Douala where most of the plastics are produced now want the government to extend the ban. The Ministry of environment had counted on these people to get licenses to produce the biodegradable material.

According to CameroonPostline.com, plastic manufacturers’ association, AC2P have called for a review in the decision banning the use of plastic bags and proposed a long term solution to the issue.

“Phase one of the proposal from 2015 to 2017 consists of canceling environmental permits and caution; intense sensitization of the population; funding of research on alternative packages; studies and negotiations for putting in place a para-public company for collection of plastics from the environment; reduction in customs duty on basic products for fabrication of biodegradable packages; fight against contraband from Nigeria and China and the putting in place of a mixed control brigade”, the President of the plastic manufacturers, Emmanuel Wafo is quoted to have told the Director of Industries in the Ministry of Mines, Industries and technological development in a meeting in Yaounde last 16 April.

According to the president, if the government insists on going ahead, many direct and indirect jobs will be lost.But government officials are said to have insisted that the ban is upheld and any person resisting will be punished using the 1994 law on forestry.

Officials are also quoted to have said manufacturers could be assisted to adjust their machines to produce biodegradable material if need be.

Why ministerial order not Law ? When the 1994 wildlife law was promulgated, the government had not seen plastic papers as a threat to live and environment. The law is silent on the issue and nowhere on the law are the plastic bags mentioned. This means violators of the ministerial order will be punished following the environmental violation sanctions provided for by that law.

This explains why many environmentalists are not certain whether it will be very effective to stop the circulation of plastic bags.

According to some of them, they would have preferred a revision of the law to ban the use of plastic packages completely because ministerial orders are likely to be challenged in administrative courts. More so, the hierarchy of the ministry, the Prime Ministry can intervene and stop a ministerial order from being applied unlike a law voted in parliament and promulgated by the head of state. The law can only be challenged by an amendment through parliament as of now.

Environmentalists expressed fears that the manufacturers who are feeling the heat of the ban may resort to other means of overturning a ministerial order, a good decision that they have eagerly been waiting for.