As part of plans to expedite the fight against plastic waste, President João Lourenço of Angola has established a working group to draft a national plan to ban plastic.
The UN estimates that more than 800 marine and coastal species are affected by plastic pollution through ingestion and entanglement, while about 11 million tonnes of plastic waste are dumped into the ocean every year. The UN warns that this figure could triple by 2040.
Lourenço in a presidential decree published in the Jornal de Angola explained that there are worrying levels of pollution resulting from the use of plastic in general.
The working group will initially be responsible for carrying out a national diagnosis to measure the state of pollution in the country, the text shows.
The head of the National Solid Waste Agency in Angola said 12.4 million plastic bags are distributed for free every day in trade.
Read also: Group launches legal fight against UK govt over Cumbria coal mine decision
Angola has a 1,600-kilometre coastline and plastic pollution is a real threat to aquatic ecosystems.
Last year, the head of the National Solid Waste Agency said that a total of 12.4 million plastic bags are distributed free of charge every day in Angola in commercial exchanges
Story was adapted from African News.
