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Lawrence Chitumba Mash Central Correspondent
Mt Darwin District Administrator Mr Maxwell Mabhuro has bemoaned the country’s over reliance on single use of disposable plastic which has devastating environmental consequences as it ends up clogging streets and polluting the environment.

Speaking at the belated 2018 World Environmental Day Commemoration held at Sohwe Primary School in Mt Darwin last week, Mr Mabhuro said it was important to engage in various waste recycling, recovery and re-use practices to safeguard the environment.

It is estimated that one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute around the world and over 500 billion disposable plastic bags are used worldwide every year. Nearly 50 percent of the plastic that is used is single use, with nearly a third of it escaping collection systems.

Mr Mabhuro said Government through the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate was asking individuals, companies, industries, Government departments and civil society to take concrete action to address plastic pollution.

“While plastic has many valuable uses, we have become over reliant on single-use or disposable plastic with severe environmental consequences,” he said.

“Nearly one third of the plastic packaging we use escapes collection systems, which means that it ends up clogging our cities and polluting our natural environment. In rural areas, it ends up being consumed by our domestic animals, thus compromising our health.