THE law has been amended so biodegradable materials can be imported tariff free before the single-use plastic ban goes into effect tomorrow.

The amendments, circulated yesterday by Bahamas Information Services, were gazetted on December 19th.

Among the items that can be brought in duty free are compostable food waste bag liners, cystalized PLA, CPLA and RCPLA tablewares, kitchenwares and biodegradable straws; and wooden stirrers and wood cutlery.

Once the ban takes effect, businesses will not be able to import plastic straws, styrofoam food containers, plastic utensils and single-use plastic shopping bags.

Stores will be allowed to charge customers a per bag fee of between 25 cents and $1. The cost of the bags must appear on a customer’s receipt as a “check out bag fee”.

Companies will be allowed to keep the fees collected for the sale of these bags and a record must be kept of the number of bags supplied during the reporting year along with the gross and net proceeds of the sale.

Failure to keep these records could result in fines up to $2,000. Failure to supply a copy of the record to the Ministry of the Environment carries a fine up to $1,000.