Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, H: Environment & Earth Science, Volume 23 Issue 1

the Green Dot as a financing scheme to promote the collection, sorting and recovery of thrown away (mainly household) packaging. Many initiatives are taken by local action groups such as beach clean-ups or river shores. But also business and governments throughout the world are taking actions, at local, national, regional or global level. Tackling the problem of plastic wastes requires coordination of policies and practices at sea, along the coast, in riverine systems and on land. The design and implementation of effective, efficient and legitimate actions and strategies should be based on a thorough understanding of the governance context that one aims to change (Van Assche et al., 2014). Understanding the different perspectives of the actors involved is key to get them fully engaged. Furthermore it is important to know that policies and legal institutions to prevent pollutions are more successful in one context than in another for example because of different enforcement mechanisms (Carmen et al., 2015). Still, successful approaches in one place can be inspirational to initiatives elsewhere. For example, the introduction of a tax in 2002 on plastic bags in Ireland triggered similar initiatives in other countries (Madara et al. , 2016). On the other hand new policies and laws can inspire local initiatives, companies, and scientists to tackle the plastic issue by, for example, developing sustainable products and processes. Companies can be inspirational by showing that sustainable products and production processes are feasible and can persuade governments to address the need of collaborative action. Governments can facilitate local actions, introduce policies, laws and plans, improve waste management systems, stimulate enterprises to produce in more environmentally responsible ways, and finance scientific research that improves our understanding of the problem and that helps to develop sustainable solutions. VI. W here Does M auritius S tand? Mauritius Island is situated in the south-west of the Indian Ocean and is a famous tourist destination. The land area of the island is about 1865 km 2 with a population of about 1.2 million (Statistics Mauritius 2021). In Mauritius, waste segregation at source is not a common practice and therefore household and commercial wastes are disposed of without being segregated. The wastes are collected regularly at least once weekly by the local authorities which are dumped at Mare Chicose, the only sanitary landfill site. However, in 2021, the government has built its first facility where wastes get segregated into electronic wastes, green waste, plastic wastes and glass. In 2020, about 75,000 tonnes of plastic wastes were generated (SM 2021a), corresponding to14.5% of the yearly municipal waste. It is noteworthy that there had been an appreciable increase in municipal wastes from 8 % in 2000 to 14.5% in 2020, following the discard of single-use plastic products. The different types of plastic polymers present in the plastic waste in Mauritius include high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polystyrene (PS).Plastic recycling is still at its infancy stage. In 2020, only 3000 tonnes of plastic were recycled(SM 2021a), mostly PET bottles. a) Actions Taken to Tackle Plastic Pollution In Mauritius The Government of Mauritius came up with some regulations/incentives to reduce the use of plastics, especially for single use plastic products and PET bottles, with the following chronological order: • Enforcement of the Environment Protection Regulations 2004 with the goal to forbid production and import of non-degradable plastic bags with gussets and handles with a wall thickness of less than 20 microns. • An excise duty was imposed on plastic bags with gusset and handles in 2006 to cut down the proliferation of plastic bags • Doubling of excise duty in 2010 to urge users to instead use thicker and reusable bags • Enforcement of Environment Protection Regulations 2015 to prevent the use of plastic bags with or without gussets and handles • Enforcement of Environment Protection Regulations 2020 for Hyper-markets and commercial centres to have recourse only to biodegradable bags • Promulgation of Environment Protection Regulations 2020 was imposed on restaurants, snacks, supermarkets and hotels to make use of biodegradable products derived from plant-based materials such as starch from corn/potatoes, bagasse, palm leaves and poly lactic acid Despite these measures, importers and local manufacturers were freely distributing non- biodegradable plastic bags without handles to sell their products, leading to an increase in the consumption of these plastic bags. It was only, in 2020, when the government brought into force of the Environment Protection (Banning of plastic bags) Regulations 2020 that the measures were taken seriously since fines and even imprisonment would be imposed. The regulations prohibit the use, import, production, sale and distribution of petroleum-based plastic bags, except when authorised. As it stands, ten single-use plastic products such as cups, spoons, forks, knives, straws, bowl, trays, hinged containers, stirrers and lids/covers have been prohibited. Possession of any of the latter is illegal, and the offender is liable to pay a fine and can even get sentenced in court. Despite these regulations, it can be observed that small enterprises like shops are still making use of the prohibited plastic bags. The latter are acquired from Holistic Approach to Tackle (Micro) Plastic Pollution: The Case of Mauritius © 2023 Global Journals 1 Year 2023 30 Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Volume XXIII Issue ersion I VI ( H )