Thin Plastics Under Siege: MEPA Cracks The Whip In Kasungu

The war on thin plastics has exploded into Kasungu, with the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) warning residents and traders to abandon the outlawed products or face uncompromising legal action.

Speaking during a high-profile awareness campaign on Thursday, MEPA’s Environment Information and Education Manager, Aubren Chirwa, did not mince words — branding thin plastics as a “toxic time bomb” crippling Malawi’s health, livestock, and ecosystems.

“We have reached a tipping point. Thin plastics are poisoning our soils, choking rivers, killing animals, and endangering human lives. Government is championing alternatives such as paper bags, cloth bags, and biodegradable packaging. Anyone found manufacturing, selling or distributing thin plastics will face decisive action,” Chirwa declared.

Kasungu Vendors Association chairperson, Peter Kamenya, pledged to lead a grassroots push to rid markets of the outlawed products.
“We are taking this fight stall-to-stall and shop-to-shop. Vendors will be frontline soldiers in this battle. Thin plastics must disappear from our markets, once and for all,” said Kamenya.

District Environmental Officer, Kondwani Mponela, admitted that loopholes between rogue manufacturers and unsuspecting consumers had undermined enforcement for years — but vowed that era is over.
“This gap has allowed thin plastics to persist, but we are closing it. With MEPA and community leaders, the council will ensure this ban bites in every corner of Kasungu. Thin plastics have no future here,” he stressed.

The campaign marks a renewed offensive against thin plastics, long outlawed but still rampant in markets. With MEPA tightening the noose and vendors rallying behind the ban, Kasungu has now become the frontline battlefield in Malawi’s national war on plastic pollution.

 

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