The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism (MOICT) has issued an order to ban selling, manufacturing, circulating and importing single-use plastic bags, which are less than 35 microns in thickness.

The order will be effective on September 19.

Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani said that the decision aims to support environmental protection initiatives and limit the spread of plastic waste.

He highlighted that the ban is in line with the government’s plans of securing an environment that supports sustainability and reduces pollution.

The ban will exclude single-use plastic bags that are more than 35 microns in thickness, single-use plastic bags that are used for medical purposes and bags that are used for exports, he said.

Al Zayani said that the MOICT held stakeholder engagement sessions especially with the private sector through the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He added that the conducted surveys showed that all local factories intend to manufacture multi-use plastic bags that are more than 35 microns in thickness. The survey also showed that 86% of these local factories would continue to manufacture plastic products that are exempt from the new regulation or alternatives to the banned single-use bags.

The minister noted that several neighboring and developed countries have applied similar regulations to limit the spread of plastic waste, which poses a great danger to the environment and wildlife.

He stressed that the ministry will continue to take measures that contribute to environmental systems protection, calling on the need for everyone’s cooperation to move forward in enforcing these efforts to preserve environmental safety.