The main focus of the new anti-plastic bag laws are ultra-thin bags less than 0.025 millimetres thick, which are generally disposed of without a second thought and which litter the highways and byways of the country causing "white pollution".

There is a quite revolution going on in at least a handful of Kebeles here in Addis. The streets and alleyways in these kebeles are being freed of "white pollution" as discarded plastic bags accumulated as litter are called in some circles.

However, Chen said, the sanitation level of railway stations and passenger trains can hardly meet the demands of a mass movement of cargo and people.

"White pollution," or improper disposal of rubbish such as food containers and wrapping paper in railway stations and along the rail lines, has aroused much concern, he added.