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Brenda Ziga Herald Reporter
The Environmental Management Agency is working on a law that will see deposits or levies being charged on plastic beverage bottles, an official has revealed.

The new law, meant to protect the environment, should reduce and clean up litter by making people collect beverage plastic containers for recycling.

For example, consumers can pay deposits when purchasing a beverage drink and receive a refund when they return the container to a store or redemption centre.

Speaking during a Zanu-PF Provincial Secretaries for Environment and Tourism Induction Workshop in Norton on Friday, EMA director-general Mrs Dorothy Chasi said the agency had come up with a draft statutory instrument (SI) proposing levies or deposits on plastic beverage containers.

“It is a draft statutory instrument to put levies or deposits on plastic beverage containers and food containers so that people keep them and claim back their deposits or to put a levy. It is not yet clear but I think it is going to the deposit route,” said Mrs Chasi.

“There is a draft, so we are still consulting industry itself, companies who produce the beverages, retailers, environmental organisations and also the public at large,” she said.

Currently, deposits are only being charged for glass bottles from Delta Beverages.

Zanu-PF Environment and Tourism secretary Cde Auxillia Mnangagwa urged provincial secretaries in environment and tourism to work hard in conserving the environment to attract tourists in their provinces.

Cde Mnangagwa said provincial secretaries should work hand in hand with the relevant stakeholders to promote a clean environment.

“As environment and tourism provincial secretaries, your job is to ensure a clean environment and you must work hand in hand with stakeholders such as Environmental Management Agency, National Parks and Zimbabwe Republic Police,” said Cde Mnangagwa.

“You should be pioneers for clean-up projects in your areas and encourage others to do the same for the benefit of your community,” she said.

Cde Mnangagwa also urged members of the public, especially women, to make use of waste to earn a living.

“I have asked the secretaries here to exchange contact details so that they copy projects such as making bags, wallets and earrings using papers and plastics. You can imagine if all the women start to work on projects like this one, they make money,” she said.

“The litter that is thrown everywhere is going to be less if people engage in projects of making bags and wallets using paper. You may find that people will be fighting for the papers because they will be using them to generate income to raise their families,” she said.

Bulawayo Women’s League Environment and Tourism Secretary Ms Zeria Ngozo said she was surviving from selling wallets and jewellery she made out of paper.

“I sell wallets at $15 each and jewellery that I make using magazines, newspapers, calendars and plastics.

“By so doing I am protecting environment and at the same time making money for my family,” she said.