(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- The Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA) is working to enact a legislation that will limit the use of plastic bags.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) too has proposed to adopt ISO 17088 in the manufacture and import of plastic bags to reduce the environmental hazards resulting from plastic products.
MECA held a preparatory meeting last week to prepare regulations on dealing with plastic bags. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Dr Mohammad Majid al Kasbi, assistant director, Department of Chemical Materials, MECA.
Kasbi highlighted the issue of increasing use of plastics, especially plastic bags, and that there is a 'special concern' about their impact on wildlife and marine life, as well as the leakage of these wastes to the seabed, where it can remain forever. 'It requires a serious response to solve this problem,' Kasbi said.
The ministry stated that it seeks to enact legislation to limit the use of plastic bags and prevent its impact on the environment for the safety and health of humans and marine organisms.
The meeting also discussed MoCI's proposal concerning the adoption of ISO 17088 in the manufacture and import of plastic bags.
Nadia bint Mohammed al Sayabiya, head, chemical and petroleum products specification, MoCI, highlighted the importance of this standard in controlling the use of plastic bags in Oman. She said plastic bags can be converted to compost under special conditions and the compost process complies with the GSO standard 901/1997 (regarding compost mixture produced from solid waste from cities).
Eng Khamis al Mafraji, head of Fertiliser Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, confirmed that the standard specification proposed by MoCI has shown that there are no side effects of the use of compost made out of solid wastes including plastic products on plants and the environment.
It was agreed at the meeting that the proposal will be studied with the cooperation and coordination of all relevant parties.
In this regard, there will be workshops for manufacturers, importers and distributors that will throw light on the provisions of the regulation and how to apply the standards on the imported and locally manufactured plastic bags.
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