The private sector will be given six months, from July 1, 2024, to deplete existing stocks of single-use plastic food containers that will be banned in the country as of that date.

All orders placed prior to July 1 can be landed; however, evidence of such orders must be presented to the relevant authorities.

This was stated on Friday by minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Senator Matthew Samuda in a ministerial statement in the Senate.

Samuda, who has responsibility for climate change, also said that as of July 1, 2025, the importation, distribution, and sale of personal care or cosmetic care products which contain intentionally added plastic microbeads or microplastics will be banned. The extended deadline is to allow the trade to make the necessary adjustments and to further sensitise the population.

This marks the fourth phase of the Government’s drive to rid the environment of certain harmful products which started in 2019 with the ban on single-use plastics, among them shopping bags, popularly called scandal bags; expanded polystyrene foam food containers; plastic drinking straws; and plastic straws attached to juice boxes and drink pouches.

Samuda said that as of July 1, the Government will embark on a massive public education campaign to bring the populace up to speed with the latest products to be placed on the banned list.

“The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, will be mounting a comprehensive national public education and awareness campaign to support the implementation of the fourth phase of the ban,” Samuda announced.

“We ask for the continued support of all stakeholders
— the private sector, civil society, and the general public
— in safeguarding the health of the population and the environment from plastic waste,” he added.

He told the Senate that his ministry, in collaboration with NEPA, in preparation for this fourth phase of the ban, undertook consultations with key stakeholders, including the relevant ministries, departments and agencies, through the Technical Working Group on Single-Use Plastic Products, as well as members of the private sector.

“It is my ministry’s intention to continue to proactively engage all stakeholders, including the general public, to encourage their active participation in the decision-making process,” said Samuda.

The minister explained that the NEPA-led public education campaign is to ensure that stakeholders will be clear on the types of products that will be regulated under this fourth phase “as well as to reinforce the objective that we all seek to achieve, that is, the significant reduction and ultimate elimination of plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.”

Samuda noted that the target of the current phases of the plastic ban have focused primarily on non-recyclable plastics.

“The Government has, however, acknowledged that this is not the full scale of the problem,” he said.

“Given all that we now know about the dangers plastic pollution poses, the Government has taken another step to cauterise the flow of single-use or avoidable plastic products on the local market,” he added.