Tunisia – Tunisian Ministry of Environment launches campaign to get rid of plastic bags

Location: Tunis, Tunisia

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:05:59

Voice: Natural

Source: A24

Restriction: A24 clients

Dateline: 11/5/2022

Storyline:

The Tunisian Ministry of Environment, in cooperation with some associations, launched a national campaign to raise awareness of the importance of getting rid of single-use plastic bags. The campaign followed the ministry’s study that said there are 4.2 billion plastic bags marketed in Tunisia each year. Three billion bags are produced domestically, while 1.2 billion bags are imported from several countries, causing environmental pollution.

 Shot list:

• Soundbite (Leila Chikhaoui, Tunisian Minister of Environment):

“In January 2020, Tunisia issued an order banning plastic bags in the country, but due to the repercussions of Covid-19, it was not implemented. Plastic pollutes the sea and land. Animals could eat plastic, get poisoned, and die. The harm could be transferred to humans through fish that have eaten plastic. Getting rid of the use of plastic is very important and must be replaced by other materials that are less harmful to the ocean and to humans. We are trying to spread awareness for now, but later we will apply penalties to those who refuse to implement the order.”

• Soundbite (Awatif Al-Arabi Al-Mas’i, Director of Quality of Life at the Ministry of Environment):

“A Tunisian citizen consumes about 400 plastic bags a year, according to the minister. 4.2 billion plastic bags are marketed in Tunisia each year. Three billion bags are produced locally, while 1.2 billion bags are imported from several countries. We are moving towards the use of other types of bags that respect nature such as paper bags and biodegradable bags, as well as reusable bags with a thickness of more than 40 microns and a capacity of 30 liters, which we can use many times. Plastic bags take 450 years to decompose. Even if they decompose, they turn into microplastics and this is consumed by fish and we eat it, so we eat a lot of plastic.”

• Soundbite (Aida bin Hassan – Member of the Scientific Council of the Bay Society for the Marine Environment):

“We must act immediately to reap what we sow in the coming years. The most important process is to reduce this waste. We should spread awareness among the younger generations to reduce the use of plastic bags and to use multi-use bags that are biodegradable. It is a long-term task. Now is the time to start these processes because plastic is everywhere. “