In the opening of The Graduate, Mr. McGuire has one word for the young Benjamin Braddock: “Plastics — there’s a great future in plastics.” The future appears to be less bright for plastics in Morocco, where the government is vigorously pursuing its campaign against the formerly ubiquitous plastic bag or “mika,” which has long littered the Moroccan landscape. In the past year, the government has reportedly seized 420 tons of plastic bags since passing a ban. The initiative follows the opening last year of Morocco’s massive solar power plant in the Sahara.
This is not to say that Morocco does not continue to face significant environmental challenges, particularly in the areas of desertification, water pollution, and destruction of river systems from projects such as dam construction.