By Cathy Maulidi :
Director General of the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (Mepa), Wilfred Kadewa, Thursday ordered Ocean Plastics Limited to cease all production after the company was allegedly found to be in violation of environmental regulations.
A Mepa team, led by Kadewa, conducted an inspection of the company Thursday and discovered that, while Ocean Plastics Limited was compliant with regulations regarding the production of certain materials, it was not in compliance with regulations concerning the production of plastic packaging for those materials.
Following the ban on the production, importation, sale and use of thin plastics under 60 microns, Mepa officials have been inspecting various companies to ensure compliance.
The team’s first stop was City Plastic Industries Limited, where they found the company to be in compliance.
The company’s Head of Marketing, Lawrence Ndovi, said that, after the announcement of the thin plastic ban following a court verdict, they immediately ceased production of bags made from such plastics.
However, this was not the case at Ocean Plastics Limited. The Mepa team found that the company was still producing the banned plastics to wrap bundles of other plastic products they were selling.
Speaking after halting production, Kadewa said they had closed the company’s production operations with immediate effect.
“After inspecting their production site, we found that, in some aspects, they are compliant, while the material they are using to bundle plastic bags for food items is not compliant.
“Therefore, we have issued a stop order on all production because one aspect of their packaging is not in compliance until they rectify the issue with the illegal material,” Kadewa said.
According to Kadewa, if the company does not comply with the order, the law will be enforced.
“There is a provision in the law that states that if they don’t abide by the order, they will be fined K6 million and their machinery will be confiscated,” he said.
The company owners declined to comment on the developments.
The Mepa team also inspected Qing Dao Plastics in Six Miles, where they found materials used to produce thin plastics, but no production was underway.
The company owners said that the materials had been ordered before the ban was imposed and are being stored for future use in case the ban is lifted.
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