Amendment banning single use plastic in Maldives ratified

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified amendments to the Export-Import laws of the Maldives to ban single-use plastics. 

The ratification of the amendment means that the import of any goods declared as single-use plastic will be prohibited under section 7 of the Act.

The President has the authority to compile and publish a list of goods to be classified as such and to add or remove items from that list.

The President's Office stated that this will enable the Maldives to steadily phase out single-use plastic.

The amendment to the Export-Import Act was passed by the Parliament at the 28th ‎sitting of its ‎third session, on 7th December 2020.

The amendment mandates the government to compile and publicise the temporary list of banned single-use plastics. The date from which the changes will come into effect is before January 1, 2021.