Gov't drafts plan for 'total conversion' to environmentally friendly bags — ministry

AMMAN — The government has drafted a plan to "permanently and totally" convert to using environmentally friendly bags in place of plastic bags, Environment Minister Saleh Kharabsheh said on Sunday.

The Environment Ministry’s plan will be implemented within the next three years, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

According to a statement from the ministry, Kharabsheh said that the plan is linked to a “detailed timetable” and is based on studies and scientific analysis of the market, taking into consideration environmental and economic factors.

He said that the plan targets relevant authorities and specifically the sources of production and import, distributors, consumers and relevant government agencies.

The minister added that the plan will be based on a comprehensive study on the extent of market readiness and needs, according to the statement.

Among other things, the study will include analysis of the amount of plastic shopping bags that are produced or imported, the number of establishments and factories that produce these bags.

The study will also address procedures required to develop the existing industries in order to completely transform production patterns towards environmentally friendly and multi-use bags, including paper and cloth bags, added the minister.

He said that based on the results of the study, the ministry will work on issuing appropriate legislation and policies to shift toward using environmentally friendly bags, as well as forming a clear funding strategy to enable existing industries and businesses make the transition.

 He said that the plan will adopt a modern approach that pushes "modifying consumer behaviour" by applying a systematic method that has proven useful in many countries, which is known as "social marketing" and depends on studying the root causes of the problem.

He noted that the implementation of the plan will be in accordance with the timetable set in cooperation with partner governmental institutions, chambers of industry and commerce and the Royal Department for Environment Protection.

He stressed the importance of cooperation with international agencies to implement the plan, among them is the Global Green Growth Institute.

In December 2019, a similar campaign for the gradual shift from the use of plastic bags to cloth bags was launched in Aqaba as part of the second environmental festival organised by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA).

Accordingly ASEZA planned to distribute 4,000 cloth bags to citizens in the coastal city’s bakeries, as bread is a basic food item in the Kingdom.