Vanuatu aims to ban disposable nappies by end of year

Vanuatu is looking to ban disposable nappies by the end of the year.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reported the government was holding nationwide consultations about the proposal, which would follow earlier moves to ban single-use plastics and styrofoam products.

Government spokesperson Rontextstar Mogregor said officials were looking at an implementation date of 31 December.

He said a team had travelled to Malua Bay on Malekula to consult with communities there.

"Though a few men questioned the idea of the ban, the mothers however, were all in favour of the idea and asserted they were the ones in charge of taking care of their babies and they are willing to cope with the changes," he stated.

In 2018, Vanuatu made history by being the first country in the Pacific to ban single-use plastic bags.

At the end of 2019, the Council of Ministers endorsed a second phase of the ban on other single use plastic items.