President Mohamed Muizzu has delayed the ban on importing single-use plastic straws into the Maldives until June 2031. The decision also pushes back restrictions on producing and selling those straws inside the country.
The change comes through an amendment to Presidential Decree No. 35/2025, which lists single-use plastics considered harmful to the environment. Officials said the move followed research from the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy.
What Exactly Changed for Plastic Straws
Import of single-use plastic drinking straws will now stay legal until 1 June 2031. Production and sale of the same items in the Maldivian market get a similar extension, running until 19 December 2031. The original deadlines were much earlier: imports were set to stop in 2021 and local production and sales in late 2022.
Anyone who has tried a soggy paper straw knows why this delay might feel practical to some people. Still, the long extension raises questions about how serious the phase-out really is.
New Rules for Plastic Bottles
The government also adjusted timelines for certain plastic water bottles. Import and production of water sold in bottles between 500 milliliters and 1 liter will now be banned from 1 December 2029. Sales of those bottles will stop on 1 June 2030.
In a separate shift, the minimum bottle size threshold dropped from 500 milliliters to 250 milliliters. From today, the import, production, and sale of pre-packaged drinks (other than water) in bottles smaller than 250 milliliters are prohibited.
The updated list of restricted plastics has already been published in the government gazette.
Official Reasoning and Market Impact
The President’s Office said the changes aim to give the market more time to adjust while addressing public complaints about paper straws. Officials also described the smaller bottle size rule as a concession to local manufacturers and businesses.
The stated goal remains protecting the environment without creating major problems for daily life or the economy. Whether a 10-year delay on straws achieves that balance is something residents and environmental groups will likely debate in the coming months.
These amendments mark another adjustment to the single-use plastic rules first introduced years ago. The latest version keeps water in larger plastic bottles available longer while tightening rules on the smallest drink containers right away.
