Harare,  (New Ziana)-In a move expected to contribute significantly to national efforts to curb littering, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has urged farmers and stakeholders to take plastic waste management seriously, starting with the responsible handling of chemical containers.

Tobacco farming in Zimbabwe uses thousands of plastic items each season including Chemical Plant Protection Agents (CPA) containers, fertiliser bags and seedling trays, materials essential for modern agriculture, but dangerous pollutants when carelessly discarded.

The TIMB Agricultural Labour Practices Code, gazetted to guide sustainable and ethical tobacco production, mandates that empty or used CPA containers and unwanted chemicals be disposed of strictly as per manufacturer guidelines.

According to the TIMB, reusing the containers for storing water, food, or animal feed is strictly prohibited, as it poses fatal risks to both humans and livestock.

“Plastic pollution is a silent threat that travels from our fields into our water, our food, and our homes. Our push towards a sustainable tobacco sector must include proper disposal of every piece of plastic we use, especially hazardous CPA containers,” said Emmanuel Matsvaire, acting TIMB chief executive officer.

To increase awareness, the TIMB has deployed Sustainability Officers across all four tobacco-growing provinces to inspect farmer practices.

In Zimbabwe, an estimated 15 percent of livestock deaths and a significant number of child illnesses in farming communities are linked to exposure to improperly discarded chemicals and containers.

Meanwhile, as of Thursday last week, Zimbabwe’s farmers had sold 268 552 308 kg of tobacco, 89.52 percent of the historic 300 million kg that the country has targeted to produce this season.

New Ziana