The Western Provincial Government in Solomon Islands has announced a ban on plastic bags.
The public broadcaster reported the provincial premier Wayne Maepio made the announcement this week during a local ministerial and stakeholder meeting.
Mr Maepio said plastic bag pollution in Western Province had reached an epidemic proportion that posed a threat to the seabed and the environment as well as to human health.
He said a stakeholder committee had been established to work on a time frame for the ban and to raise support for it from industries such as tourism.
Plastic in the ocean. Photo: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Cesar Harada