Ethiopia banned the import of plastic bags, as part of the national green growth initiative, on Monday.
A bill to ban the import of plastic bags was approved by the Parliament according to the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority.
The ban will also include the manufacture of plastic bags within the country noted the authority.
Ethiopia is amongst the first African countries to implement this ban commended by environmentalists. Plastic bags are detrimental to the environment because they do not biodegrade and can be consumed by livestock it was noted.It is to be remembered that Ethiopia has launched a green growth strategy and announced plans to develop Wind power and Geo thermal Energy projects.
The green growth strategy was prepared by the collaboration of the EPA and the Finance, Agriculture and Industry ministries. The plan aims to improve crop and livestock production, forest management and effective forestation as well as expanding electric power generation and developing efficient and modern transport technologies.
Ethiopia has also announced plans to to construct six wind power and one Geo Thermal Power Plant this fiscal year. The alternative power generating projects are expected to have the capacity to generate 1,015 Mega Watts.
The wind power and Geo thermal projects are part of EEPCO’s aim to increase Ethiopia’s electric power generation capacity to 10,000 MW from the current 2000 MW capability.
The electric corporation is also planning to generate electric power from ethanol.
Source: Ethiopian Herald
