Mr Lubinda says he is waiting for submissions from line ministries on how best to manage the disposal of plastic materials.
He was responding to a proposal by Zambia Environment Management Agency -ZEMA- to have a statutory Instrument referred to as Extended Producer Responsibility, put in place.
Mr Lubinda has told ZNBC News in an interview in Lusaka that there is need to come up with regulatory policy that helps protect the environment.
And ZEMA Principal Information and Communications Officer Irene Chipili said the Agency is concerned with the increased use of plastics.
Ms Chipili said plastic bottles and plastics bags have a long term effect on the environment.
Tell me what is there to ponder? Rwanda implemented this law a long time ago and it is reinforced. it is probably the cleanest country in Africa. Plastics are an environmental hazard especially for a country with poor sanitation practices. Do it like yesteryear!
I agree with you Nono. Nothing like extended liability…just ban plastic bags. Uganda did the same last year having drawn inspiration from Rwanda. There is a marked visible improvement in Kampala. Just implement the legislation.
This is just another scheme to rip off Zambians. You will pay more for goods and plastic litter will still be on the streets. This is the same story with toll roads. Remember Road Levy was supposed to be used to maintain roads? That never happened and we still pay it today in fuel prices. Even the Eurobond roads will start disintegrating soon and there will be no money to maintain them.
@Nono, Rwandese ministers work because they are hugely inspired by the President who has a vision for Rwanda. His vision is not a secret statement, everyone knows it and understands it. Visit Kigali, you will be amazed: clean and orderly, completely no street vendor!
Napap Sana, you may say so, but to tell you the truth there is no peace in Rwanda. Wait anothe 1 or 2 years, you will know what I am talking about. Yes indeed, the country is probably the cleanest in Afrca, but you will not blog like you do here. If the suspect you they will follow you from the airport until you leave that country. If you have feature of a Rwandese,and the authorities are not sure about you, they will eliminate you like a dog before you leave their country. I have a friend who visited Rwanda on a business trip,. He was suspected of being Rwandese. He lost his luggage at the Airport. He late found his bag but the laptop was missing. Later he learned that the laptop was “stolen” because they suspected that he was a “Rwandese rebel” so they wanted to get some…
Only solution is like south Africa, where you pay for every plastic bag when you buy anything from these big retailers. This will deter people from getting plastics anyhow.
#Napapa Sana: it is president’s with no vision who think that street vending creates employment. People know where to go for to buy stuff or for films. If people go to shops and markets to buy food or clothes, it is being a visionless leader to think that people should be confined to trade on streets. Lungu & Sata had no vision. Kagame has a vision
@Kachasu, Very true! Kagame has explained very clearly his vision and I think 98% of Rwandese understand it well. In Zambia it is haphazard in everything (just look at economic policies, in energy).
Face the facts. LUNGU has no vision!
The rest of Zambia too! How can anyone see anything in the dark?
Load shedding has cut out all our lights! Blind leading the blind!
Time we considered building a NEW capital somewhere in itezhi-tezhi. Lusaka shud be abandoned completely; just like Nigerians moved from Logos to Abuja.
The new Town should be wary of drainages, flyover bridges over motorways, do better country/County planning especially when it comes to residential dwelling homes, shopping malls etc., etc. Only when we do that shall we control open trading by vendors, bamwenye and of course, ‘fly – by -night’ dealers and companies that discard litter anyhow. Yes this will require BIG MONEY to accomplish but, will serve the Zambian populous better
@Nkope, so that you can start claiming that even the capital City is in your land so its yours, just as you and your tribes mate without thinking have been claiming that Kariba Dam is in your land so is the Tourist Capital, Sugar Company, Maamba, Thermal, etc. Personalising Government National projects or installations, so dumb and very short sighted you Tonga dimwits
Once there was a big bag of empty water bottles at my daughters balcony when I visited her house as her and her younger sister drunk only bottled water due to contamination of tap water. I called the manufacturing company and asked them how we could get bottles to them and the response was negative. So that law is very welcome as it will make the bottled water companies take responsibility and take recycling seriously
ThIs is another classic example of lack of decisive leadeship on the part of this government. What is there to ponder about the obvious. Progressive countries passed laws to enforce the restricted use of plastic bags a lot of year ago. But one can understand the reason for this huffing and puffing: PF “Mwenye and Lebanese” business sponsors are the major manufacturers of these plastics and all it will take is for one to complain for this matter to die a nature death. That is exactly what happened to the issue of billboards on major streets like Addis Ababa. You think RATSA is so competent. NO. The PF government is a disorderly goverment and just put a stop to this. And why is the Justice Minister talking about this matter? Where is the Environmental Minster or whatever he or she is…
I thought “ponder” is not synonymous with PF. Whenever they “ponder” it’s to do with how best to steal from govt, not generating ideas to develop the country.
The law is long overdue. Ask the South Africans since when did they implement this law? Big headed slow thinkers think its one avenue of stealing from the poor.
Law over due, imaging buying 1 tablet of soap, 1loaf of bread, 1 bottle of mineral water 1 chicken, you are given 4 plastic bags in shoprite. Water and drinks in plastics how much waste. Yes much as we need consultations with key players government should move fast to implement such laws
you have a farmer heading the legal ministry, thats why. you should have a lawyer in that ministry. he does not understand the job