Malawi's paramount court has ruled in favour of a ban on plastic, upholding a 2015 government bar on producing, distributing and importing thin single-use plastics typically used in packaging and wrapping.

In a judgement handed down on Wednesday and seen by AFP on Thursday, a seven-judge panel of the Supreme Court of Appeal threw out a challenge by plastic manufacturers to stop a ban introduced four years ago.

At least a dozen companies had obtained an injunction against implementing the ban, arguing that it infringed on their business rights.

But the court this week ruled that plastics measuring less than 60 microns (60 millionths of a metre) were an environmental hazard as they take a long time to decompose despite their thinness.

Continued use of the plastics will from now on attract fines, closure of factories and seizure of the prohibited products, said the court.

Tawonga Mbale, an environmental director at the ministry of natural resources, welcomed the ruling.

"Plastics do not biodegrade, so it is a win for the environment," said Mbale.

Plastic manufacturers in Malawi produce an estimated 75,000 tonnes of plastic per year, of which some 80 percent is single-use plastic, according to the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust.

The industry claims that 5,000 jobs could be lost because of the ban.

Environmentalists argue that the costs of plastic pollution for municipalities, fisheries, agriculture, tourism and human health far outweigh the cost of prohibition.

"Public, political, and scientific opinion has long been in consensus on the issue of thin plastics, and I am delighted that Malawi now joins a progressive international community standing up for their natural heritage," said Lilongwe Wildlife Trust chief executive officer Jonny Vaughan.

San Francisco airport bans sale of plastic bottles
San Francisco (AFP) Aug 3, 2019 - San Francisco International Airport is banning the sale of single-use plastic bottles and will require fliers to buy refillable bottles if they're not already carrying their own, US media reported on Friday.

The new rule comes into effect on August 20, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, and is part of a five-year plan to lower landfill waste, net carbon emissions and net energy use to zero.

"We're the first airport that we're aware of to implement this change," airport spokesman Doug Yakel told the newspaper.

"We're on the leading edge for the industry, and we want to push the boundaries of sustainability initiatives," he said.

The ban will apply to all restaurants, cafes and vending machines, though not to planes using the airport.

It exempts brands of flavored water.

Filtered water is provided for free at 100 "hydration stations," where flyers can top up glass or metal bottles.

The airport describes itself as an "industry leader" in sustainability, installing solar panels and instructing all tenants to use fully compostable food ware including straws and utensils.

Airports in Dubai and India have announced similar plastic bottle bans, but have yet to fully implement them.

The city of San Francisco banned the sale of plastic water bottles on city-owned property back in 2014, but allowed delays and granted certain exemptions.

Global plastic production has grown rapidly, and is currently at more than 400 million tons per year.

Single-use items represent about 70 percent of the plastic waste littering the marine environment.

Each year, a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals worldwide are injured or killed by becoming entangled in plastic or ingesting it through the food chain.

Canada and the European Union have pledged to ban single-use plastics starting in 2021.

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