Yesterday we learnt that EMA was lobbying the government to ban disposable diapers. According to the Environment Management Agency, diapers are evil and bad for the environment as they are not biodegradable. They also accused the public of just dumping diapers everywhere.

The wider public was incensed that they were being blamed for polluting the environment and had not been consulted before EMA sought the ban. People were also angry at the fact that a lot of government departments are in the habit of issuing bans without actually weighing the evidence or doing their jobs. They saw bans as taking the easy way out.

Environmental Management Authority should manage the environment for the benefit of people by enforcing appropriate waste management techniques, rather than banning products that form part of people’s livelihoods and part of business income.
In this day and age of sustainability where people are conserving water, who would advocate the use of washable napkins?
“Rather than banning disposable nappies, EMA should be lobbying Government to legislate for proper household waste management facilities by the ratepayer-funded urban councils.
One user’s scathing criticism of EMA on Facebook

Others pointed out what we had said in our own criticism of the move. Banning diapers doesn’t actually mean anything really as people are still going to use them banned or not.

We have seen this before. A few years ago they banned kaylite (polystyrene packaging) and physical airtime recharge cards. They also banned plastic bags. The public was not consulted on all occasions and eventually, the bans were either reversed and simply didn’t work.