DAR ES SALAAM, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania admitted on Thursday that the recently imposed ban on the use of plastic bags was facing challenges, including shortage of alternative bags.

Joseph Malongo, the Permanent Secretary in the Vice-President's Office responsible for Environment, said shortage of alternative bags resulted in raising prices of few available bags due to high demand.

He said the government has held talks with producers of alternative bags and assured them of the availability of the market for the products following the ban.

The public has responded positively to the ban on plastic bags but there are still a few challenges that once solved, the ban will become a success, Malongo told a news conference in the capital Dodoma.

He identified other challenges as lack of awareness on the public on specifications of allowed plastic bags and how to use them, saying those meant for packaging were still used for ferrying goods.

Malongo added that the National Environment Management Council will conduct a nationwide inspection to establish plastic bags were currently being used in contrary to requirements.

In his budget speech in parliament in April, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa announced a total ban on production, importation, sell or use of plastic bags with effect from June 1, 2019.

Tanzania joined countries in Africa that have either banned or introduced a levy on plastic bags to control and eventually stop its use.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a leading global conservation organization, commended the government of Tanzania for taking strong action towards the reduction of plastic pollution by introducing a ban on single use plastic bags in the country.

WWF said in a statement in April that the use of plastics, which was introduced in Africa a generation ago, has been reported to pollute both the seas and land at an alarming rate.