SUP Ban: Environment Ministry releases standard for biodegradable plastic bags in Maldives

Malé, Maldives – The Environment Ministery of Maldives has released a list of standards for classification of biodegradable plastic bags in the Maldives.

The Ministry stated that the purpose of compiling these standards is to harmonize the policies implemented for the issue of permits to both importers and local producers of biodegrable bags. The standards qualified for classification are:

• The bag shall meet the standard of EN13432:2000 “Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation – Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging”.
• The measure of heavy-metals in the materials of the bag shall not exceed the standards of EN13432:2000 “Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation – Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging”.
• 90 percent of the materials shall deteriorate and decompose on its own within a maximum period of 1 (one) year.
• A minimum of 50 percent of materials shall be of organic material.
• Any type of matter that is dangerous to the environment shall not be disposed into the environment during the decomposition.
• Non-biodegradable fraction of the material shall not exceed 5 percent.
• Bags intended for food packaging shall not contain any material that would negatively affect the food.
• If any of the additives used in the production (such as: polymers; organic additives; inorganic fillers; stabilizers; or pro-oxidants) are declared dangerous to the environment of Maldives, by the government or by an International Convention to which Maldives is a party to, then the measure of such additives shall be less than 0.1 (Zero point one) percent.
• The conditions for decomposition; the period for decomposition (indicating service life and storage life); the trade names or the chemical names of the additives; the name or logo of the importer or the local producer; and an internationally recognized mark, logo or text for endorsing biodegradable plastic bags, shall be present on the outside of the bag. The text shall be in English or Dhivehi.

Along with this, if the biodegradable plastic bag is of the type Oxo-biodegradable plastic bag, the Environment Ministry stated that the certificate of endorsement for biodegradable plastic bags would be issued for the bags which qualify for the following standards:

• The bag shall meet the standard of ASTM D6954-04 “Standard Guide for Exposing and Testing Plastics that Degrade in the Environment by a Combination of Oxidation and Biodegradation”
• The measure of heavy-metals should not exceed the following amounts.

• 90 percent of the materials shall deteriorate and decompose on its own within a maximum period of 1 year.
• A minimum of 50 percent of materials shall be of organic material.
• Any type of matter that is dangerous to the environment shall not be disposed into the environment during the decomposition.
• Non-biodegradable fraction of the material shall not exceed 5 percent.
• 60 percent of the organic carbon in the material shall convert to carbon dioxide within 6 months.
• The storage life and service life shall be below 8.2.
• The average molecular weight of the bag should be less than 5000 daltons.
• The gel fraction of the bag should be less than 5 percent.
• Bags intended for food packaging shall not contain any material that would negatively affect the food.
• If any of the additives, used in the production, such as: polymers; organic additives; inorganic fillers; stabilizers; or pro-oxidants, are declared dangerous to the environment of Maldives, by the government or by an International Convention to which Maldives is a party to, then the measure of such additives shall be less than 0.1 percent.
• The conditions for decomposition; the period for decomposition (indicating service life and storage life); the trade names or the chemical names of the additives; the name or logo of the importer or the local producer; and an internationally recognized mark, logo or text for endorsing biodegradable plastic bags, shall be present on the outside of the bag. The text shall be in English or Dhivehi.

The Government of Maldives decided on November 5, 2020 to ban the import of certain single use plastics, deemed as such by the President starting from June 1st of 2021.

As per the amendment, the President has categorised and published 12 categories of single use plastics in the Government Gazette import of which are to be banned in Maldives starting from the specified date.

Items declared as single use plastics by the President

• Plastic drinking straw
• Single-use plastic-based plates, cutleries and stirrers.
• Styrofoam lunch box
• Plastic shopping bags below 30×30 cm (including oxo-degradable and synthetic polymer based biodegradable plastics)
• Plastic shopping bags below 50-micron thickness (including oxo degradable and synthetic polymer based biodegradable plastics)
• Imported sweet areca nuts in plastic wrapping
• Single-use plastic cups below 250ml
• Cotton buds with plastic stems
• Shampoo and soap bottles in plastic packaging that are 50 ml and below
• Shampoo and soap bottles in plastic packaging from 50 ml to 200 ml
• All imported beverages in PET bottles below 500 ml (water, carbonated and non-carbonated drinks)
• All imported water that is 01 liter and below packed in P.E.T packaging

In addition to the items, import of which are to banned from June 1st, 2021, this list also includes items which are to be banned from December’s of 2022 and 2023.

While the banning of these items has attracted the attention of many, the Government aims to steadily phase out single-use plastic with the implementation of this amendment.

Phasing out the use of SUPs in the Maldives is one of the Government’s key environmental pledges. During the first 100 days following his inauguration, President Solih launched a campaign to minimize SUP-use in the President’s Office, where he noted the use of SUPs in the Maldives had been at an alarmingly high level as researches show that if current trends continue, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050.