KIGALI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan Cabinet has endorsed a draft law that seeks to ban the single-use plastic items in a bid to reduce the impact plastic is having on the environment.

The government is introducing the ban on single-use plastic items such as plastic straws, bottles and all those plastics that are used only once before they are thrown away or recycled, Colette Ruhamya, director general of Rwanda Environment Management Authority told Xinhua Tuesday in a telephone interview.

According to minutes of Monday's cabinet meeting, the cabinet approved the draft law on prohibition of manufacturing, use, and sale of single-use plastic items.

The ban is part of an international effort to reduce environmental pollution, said Ruhamya. People are encouraged to consider alternatives to single-use plastics, she added.

The draft law will be tabled before the parliament before it can be passed into law, according to the official.

In 2008, the landlocked country passed a law banning importation and use of polythene bags, which also stipulates heavy penalties for their use or smuggling them into the country.