On June 1, 2019, Tanzania's comprehensive "plastic bag ban" went into effect, banning the import, export, manufacture, sale, storage, and use of plastic bags of all thicknesses in mainland Tanzania.

In mid-May, the Tanzanian Embassy in China issued a special notice reminding visitors to the country to avoid bringing plastic bags or items wrapped in plastic bags, and that those entering the country would be asked to hand over any plastic bag products.

Those who violate the ban could face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to $400,000. Anyone caught carrying plastic bags could be fined $13 on the spot.

The economy is still being developed in Africa, so why the plastic bag ban in a big way? Combating white pollution is one consideration. However, a study published in October 2018 in Elsevier's monthly Ocean Policy notes that the problem of plastic waste is not just an environmental issue but is closely linked to many major socio-economic development issues in African countries.

Africa is the fastest-growing continent in the world in terms of population, with the United Nations Environment Programme reporting in 2015 that it will add 1.3 billion people to its population by 2050, which means 80 people are born every minute.

The highest rate of population growth and urbanization is expected to occur in coastal areas, creating a huge consumer market for plastic products and plastic packaging products with rapid urbanization. However, the rate of waste disposal infrastructure construction in African countries is far from keeping up with the rate of population, urbanization, and consumption growth in Africa.

In 2015, the European Union issued a plastic restriction directive, with the goal that by the end of 2019, people in EU countries would consume no more than 90 plastic bags per person per year, and in 2025, this number would be reduced to 40. After the directive was issued, each member state embarked on the "road to plastic restriction."

In 2018, the European Parliament passed another decree on plastic waste control, according to which, from 2021, the EU will completely ban the use of 10 types of single-use plastic products such as drinking straws, cutlery, and cotton swabs in member states.

These supplies will be replaced by paper, straws or reusable hard plastics. Plastic bottles will be collected separately according to existing recycling patterns; by 2025, member states will be required to have a 90% recycling rate for single-use plastic bottles.

Why do we need to ban and limit plastic? Take a look at this set of data. The global average consumption of 1 million plastic bags every 1 minute, and the total annual global plastic consumption of 400 million tons.

Currently, only 14% of the world's plastic packaging is recycled, and ultimately only 10% of the effective recycling, about 8 million tons of plastic waste into the ocean each year, all together can be 420 times around the Earth.

Garbage will lead to the extinction of marine life. These plastic bags are thrown into the ocean degradation time of 200 ~ 1000 years

Plastic landfills take up a lot of land, and the occupied land soil is contaminated and not restored for a long time.