Luanda, Sept. 22, 2026 (Lusa) - Angola, which produces 4,560 tonnes of plastic daily and recycles less than 10% of its total waste, has, effective Tuesday, banned the production, import and sale of single-use plastics less than 0.05 millimetres thick.
The government announced the measure, which covers plastic bottles, cups, cutlery, bags, tableware, straws and cotton buds measuring less than 50 ‘microns' (a unit of length equivalent to 0.05 millimetres).
The ban forms part of the National Plan for the Progressive Phase-out of Single-Use Plastics (PLANEPP) 2025–2027, and the government announced it at a press conference in Luanda.
According to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Yuri Santos, the Angolan market may now use only plastic material thicker than 0.05 millimetres.
«The bags we commonly find on the market are not recyclable; they are often dumped in open spaces, and our recycling capacity at national level is still very limited,» he said.
For the Angolan authorities, the nationwide PLANEPP 2025–2027 represents a «decisive step» in the Angolan government's response to one of today's greatest environmental challenges: the growing production, use and improper disposal of plastic products.
Yuri Santos noted that Angola faces a waste management challenge, with an estimated daily production of 19,000 tonnes, of which 39% is organic waste, followed by plastic waste at almost 24% and the remainder being paper and cardboard.
«And our recycling rate is less than 10%, which means that a large proportion of this waste is collected and deposited in our landfill,» he noted, pointing out that the aim of the campaign «is to create value».
He emphasised that bags thinner than 50 microns offer limited value, explaining that they are often collected and sent directly to landfill, and, once they reach the ground, can affect ditches, rivers and oceans, influencing biodiversity, ecosystems and public health.
«Our aim is to phase out this type of bag from our market,» he said, adding that the PLANEPP includes a monitoring report.
He added that the National Authority for Economic Inspection and Food Safety (ANIESA) will enforce the measures, and producers and other market operators will benefit from a 12-month grace period.
The Secretary of State for Industry, Carlos Manuel Rodrigues, said that the country has 33 plastic bag factories, where surveys of their installed capacity have been carried out, and during this period they have made adjustments «without any great need for investment».
«We are talking solely about the thickness [of the plastic bag]. We can control this on the production side, and the industry has mechanisms in place to verify production (…). On the other hand, there is the issue of imports of these products, for which the Government will not issue any kind of licence», he said to journalists.
Carlos Manuel Rodrigues also said that, through production and import controls, the authorities can regulate the market and that monitoring will be carried out using the country's existing enforcement mechanisms.
The PLANEPP also sets out fines for those who fail to comply with the measure aimed at the phasing out of plastics, ranging from 25,000 to five million kwanzas (€23 to €4,700) for individuals and from one million to 300 million kwanzas (€954 to €286,400).
DAS/ADB // ADB.
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