Enoh Peter Ayuk, Director of Standards and Controls, Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development, talks about the drive to rid the country of banned plastics.

What evaluation of the ban on non-biodegradable plastic papers 10 months into the exercise?

The public should be more aware that the quality of plastics that we are looking for is more focus on the thickness of the plastics and not on the biodegradability. We have opted for more physical inspection and verification process to take this ability rather than focus on biodegradability which requires technology, human resources and infrastructure which are not really available.

How many companies have you shut down and how many tons of non-biodegradable plastics have your control missions impounded?

We have opted for parameters specified in article 8 which states that the distinction should be above 61 microns of thickness and should carry the quality of the chemical composition in his production as well as the address of whoever produces it and the telephone number. So, this is what we targeted and based on that we have been able to cover the period of nine months and we have been able to seize about 334 tons of unacceptable plastics within the ten regions of Cameroon.

The national structure and committees put in place for the implementation of the text has been able to sanction some industries and some businessmen resisting the measure. This text has been applied in the supermarkets, big magazines where the quality of plastics is acceptable. There was panic when the text went operational. We still recognize that the volume of non-biodegradable is there and might be circulating but we are trying to put that into check.

We also do recognize that huge amounts of plastics enter the borders illegally. We are reinforcing control to avoid and eliminate the use of non-biodegradable plastics bags as much as possible. Some progress has been made and we intend to continue in the same wavelength this year. Key areas are on pollution control and the fight against unwanted plastics.

Non-biodegradable bags are still sold in markets. Where are the controls?

Controls are there. There are regional controls with regional teams headed by Governors and all stakeholder ministries like Trade, Justice, Industry and all members of these committees. We also have an operational unit from the central administration and also at the regional level.

There is also a national control brigade. It is easy for anyone to evaluate. It is clear that the amount of plastic papers have reduced drastically. The amount of plastic bags in the waste side in Nkolfolou in the outskirts of Yaounde has reduced and these are the effects of controls. There are some industries that have been shut down for producing unwanted plastics.