Kanchanpur to ban use, sale of plastic bags

The Kanchanpur district administration office will ban plastic bags in the district from coming April 14.

The import, sale, distribution and use of plastic bags below 40 microns will be banned, said Chief District Officer Gopal Prasad Aryal. “The implementation date of the decision coincides with April 14, the date of Nepali New Year. We have already issued a public notice about it,” he said.

Earlier a month ago, the administration directed a ban on the production, import, sale, distribution and use of plastic bags below 40 microns. Flouting the direction is subject to action, he said. The administration will carry out a regular monitoring to stop the use of plastic bags. “Anyone breaching the direction will be warned in the first place. They will face action if found to be flouting the direction second time. The plastic bags will also be seized,” he said.

The use and sale of banned plastic bags is subject to fines of up to Rs 50,000 depending on the condition and degree of offences as per the existing laws.

A district assembly organised by the district coordination committee resorted to the move upholding pledges by people’s representatives of nine local levels to ban the use, sale and distribution of plastic bags.

Chiefs and deputy chiefs of the nine local levels participated in the meeting. The meeting decided to ban the sale of plastic bags, plates and glasses, and tobacco, said Durga Datta Bohara, chief of the district coordination committee. He stressed the need for consumers to be aware about the negative impacts of plastic bags on human health and the environment.