Maldives Pushes Plastic Straw Import Ban to 2031

The Maldives has moved its ban on importing single-use plastic drinking straws to June 2031 and changed restrictions on drinks sold in small plastic bottles, under a presidential decree announced on 19 September.

President Mohamed Muizzu amended the prohibited plastics list following recommendations from the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy.

The new import date for drinking straws is 1 June 2031. The prohibition on producing and selling them domestically moves to 19 December 2031.

The amendment also defers restrictions on water in plastic bottles covered by item 13 of the list, described by the President's Office as bottles from one litre down to 500 millilitres.

For that category, imports and production are to be prohibited from 1 December 2029, followed by a sales prohibition from 1 June 2030.

A separate change reduces the bottle-size threshold for pre-packaged drinks other than water from 500 millilitres to 250 millilitres. Importing, producing and selling those drinks in plastic bottles smaller than 250 millilitres is prohibited immediately.

The changes were made through Presidential Decree 15/2026, published in the Government Gazette.

A list amended since 2020

The plastics restrictions originated in a phased programme announced under former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. On 30 December 2020, the government published an initial list of products to be prohibited from import from June 2021.

The legal authority followed the 18th amendment to the Export-Import Act, ratified on 22 December 2020. It authorised the president to publish a list of single-use plastics barred from import and to add or remove products.

The original programme covered import, production and sale in stages. Its categories included straws, disposable tableware, styrofoam lunch boxes, carrier bags, cotton buds and small toiletry containers.

The government amended the list again in May 2021, including changes to dates for drinks in plastic packaging and the addition of conditioner and body-lotion containers to specified toiletry categories.

The September 2026 decree changes the dates and thresholds for the three items identified in the latest announcement: drinking straws, the specified water-bottle category and small plastic bottles containing other beverages.