President's Office eliminates single-use plastic

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Sunday launched a campaign to ban single-use plastic in the President's Office.

President Solih presented symbolic glass bottles to prominent employees of the office to mark the start of the campaign. The tokens were given to Director Ibrahim Ahmed Didi and Special Support Assistant Shaara Abdul Rahman.

Speaking at the function, President Solih stressed the importance of protecting the country's fragile environment as the two major industries, fisheries and tourism, are dependent on it.

President's Office tweet

President Solih also stated that marine dumping, which mainly consists of plastic waste, is the main threat to Maldivian ecosystems.

Statistics reveal that 860 metric tonnes of garbage are dumped into Maldivian waters every single day.

President Solih also expressed the need for locals to make lifestyle changes to limit over-dependence on single-use plastic. He revealed that 280,000 plastic bags are used daily in the capital city Malé alone.

Additionally, Solih announced plans to cut down plastic usage in other government institutions within the first hundred days of his leadership.

The campaign against single-use plastic has gained increasing support across Maldives in recent years. In 2016, Keyodhoo of Vaavu Atoll implemented a total ban on plastic bags and the local telecommunications giant, Dhiraagu has stopped plastic bottle usage within the company.