Morocco is embarking on a nationwide awareness campaign to inform people of the dangers of plastic bags for the environment.
Using the motto "Morocco without plastic bags", North Africa Post reports that the focus is on biodegradable alternatives such as paper bags and cotton bags.
Sponsored by the local association, Mawarid, it seeks to explain the problems of non-biodegradable plastic bags, promoting more sustainable alternatives among retailers and consumers.
This would involve ads, debates and films on public TV channels, as well as educating school children.
More than 1,000 environmentally-friendly bags are also to be distributed, with training workshops on how to make them to be held in Marrakesh, Agadir and Casablanca.
Morocco is the second biggest user of plastic bags in the world, the newspaper reports, following the US and a bill on their use was adopted in June 2010 to reduce the consumption of plastic bags.
Despite taking up to 400 years to degrade, they are only used on average for 12 minutes and end up in landfills, creating a huge waste problem for the country.
The new 2011 law prohibiting the manufacturing of non-degradable bags was not rolled out to every retailer, instead only those who had a certain reserve of capital.
However, large fines have already been agreed for those who are failing to comply with the regulations.
While the ban has generally been embraced by academics, campaigners and the public, doubts still remain as to how effective it is being and what long-term impact it will have on Moroccan waste levels and retail performance.
The debate has been raging across the world as to whether paper bags should ultimately replace plastic bags as a more environmentally-friendly alternative, with Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of North America already implementing their own localised bans on non-degradable carrier bags.
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