This mandatory requirement has been announced by the authorities of the islanddistrict, one year after Co To encouraged local people and tourists not to usesingle-use plastic items. The decision is aimed at curbing plastic waste andmarine pollution.
Administrative bodies, schools, markets, businesses, andfishing vessels in the island district will be prohibited from using plasticbags and disposable plastic items.
The island district has established a monitoring team at the CoTo wharf, so that not only locals and tourists but also passenger and cargoships that do not comply with this regulation will not be allowed to dock atthe wharf.
Every year, Co To island district welcomes 6,000-8,000tourists. Before piloting the halt of single-use plastics, on peaktourist season days, environmental companies had to collect a huge amount ofwaste, from 15-17 tonnes per day. The amount of waste from tourism also puts aburden on the island district's environment.
Therefore, stopping the use of single-use plastic items inCo To island district will contribute to revitalising the marine environmentand developing a sustainable form of tourism here./.