Located in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, Oman is distinguished from its neighbors in the Gulf by its reputation as a country respectful of its natural landscapes and its exceptional underwater fauna. So the sultanate has decided to ban single-use plastic bags from next year.
"Companies and institutions are prohibited from using single-use plastic bags to preserve the Omani environment," the environment ministry said on Sunday. The measure, which “will enter into force on January 1, 2021”, imposes on offenders “an administrative fine of at least 100 to 2,000 Omani rials (230 to 4,600 euros) at most”, these amounts being “doubled in the event of recidivism” .
A popular tourist destination
The Sultanate of Oman has become in recent years an increasingly popular tourist destination with nature lovers, with its high mountainous landscapes deep in the blue waters of the Gulf. About 2.3 million tourists visited the country in 2018, according to the UN. Oman is also famous for sheltering endangered species of turtles that migrate each year to its beaches to lay their eggs. Plastic bags, which are found in seas and oceans, are particularly harmful for these marine animals.
Several countries or regions around the world have taken similar initiatives to ban or limit single-use plastics. Last week, the emirate of Abu Dhabi announced its intention to eliminate them "by 2021".
Planet
Only 10% of the 9.2 billion tonnes of plastics produced since the 1950s were recycled
Planet
Do you want to do away with single-use plastic packaging? Assembly sets target for 2040
- Pollution
- Environment
- Plastic bag
- Plastic
- Oman
- Planet