A group of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Malawi has demanded the implementation of a ban on the use of thin plastics in the country.

Development Diaries reports that in a petition signed by 13 local CSOs, the group said its demand served as a reminder to the Malawian government of the 2015 court ruling against the use of plastics.

The CSO presented the petition to the Chief Justice of the Blantyre High Court.

Speaking after the presentation of the petition, a Board Member for the Coordinator for the Rehabilitation of the Environment (CURE), Karen Price, said the petition stressed the importance of the potential problems that arise due to the use of thin plastics.

‘Pollution, in general, is a global challenge but plastic is a bigger problem because it is one of the products that fail to bi-degrade with the environment and they remain within our landscape for a long period of time – which also brings abnormal climate change such as the recent devastating Cyclone Freddy’, Nyasa Times quoted Price as saying.

‘We know that everyone is entitled to the right of obtaining an injunction but we believe that the injunction which was put against the banning of plastic was mainly for economic gains on their businesses.

‘But we are considering the rights of the environment which needs total care because poor environment management brings a huge negative impact to the country and globally’.

For his part, the Registrar of the High Court, who received the petition, Kondwani Banda, assured the CSOs that the Chief Justice will take the needed action as he himself is an ardent fighter for environmental rights.

Photo source: Youth and Development Malawi