Malta will among the first countries in the EU to ban imports of certain single-use plastics, with the legal notices now published.

Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia announced announced that the importation of single-use plastic products will be banned from Friday, the 1st of January 2021, following today’s completion of the public consultation and publication of legal notices.

The ban will apply to products such as plastic bags, cutlery, straws, plates, cotton buds, food containers, and stirrers.

The Minister said that the implementation of the measure is ongoing, and all is according to plan.

He stressed that, “it is high time that we give answers to our children who ask about all the litter on our beaches, who see photos of washed-up seagulls with stomachs full of plastic products, and injured turtles caught up in plastic bags. We will continue to work to decrease pollution, launch our climate change strategy, improve our health and that of our ecosystems, with tangible results.”

The Minister added that, “this year will be a transitory one for the single-use plastic products already on the market and, as from 2022, the sale and distribution of these items will also be legally prohibited.”

“We are doing this with determination, as families in Malta want the environment at the top of the government’s agenda post-COVID. At the same time, the process is fully transparent in order to provide certainty to industry,” Minister Farrugia said.

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