The Yaounde I city council launches the “Zero Plastic” operation to fight against non-biodegradable packaging.

The Yaounde I City Council launched on Wednesday, April 26, the “Zero Plastic” operation by distributing free of charge 5,000 ecological bags made of wood-based kraft paper to traders in the municipality. A caravan will set off tomorrow in several districts of the municipality to distribute the bags, especially to vendors of doughnuts and fruit.

“It is also about preserving the health of our people by gradually disengaging them from the use of plastic packaging and encouraging them to use recyclable, biodegradable packaging,” said the head of the hygiene and sanitation department of the Yaounde 1 council, Christophe Ntsa, on national radio. The objective of the town hall is to put an end to single-use plastic packaging, a symbol of pollution.

Since April 1, 2014, the manufacture, import, possession and marketing or free distribution of non-biodegradable plastic packaging with low density (less than or equal to 60 microns thick) is prohibited in the country.
But nine years on, the measure is still struggling to be applied. While traditional supermarkets respect the ban, these plastic bags continue to be used as packaging in markets and shops in the neighbourhoods.

They often end up in the street after use and contribute to clogging drains and other water drainage channels, which cause flooding. The authorities are stepping up initiatives to dissuade people from using these plastic bags.