From now on tourists visiting Tanzania are being urged to remove plastic bags from their luggage after the country implemented a ban in order to tackle pollution and protect the environment.

Airline passengers have been told to remove the non-recyclable plastic carriers before arriving – although “ziplock” bags used as part of airport security procedures are still permitted.

Advice issued by the Foreign Office for the 75,000 British visitors to Tanzania each year states travellers “may be asked to surrender plastic bags on arrival”.

Tanzania joins a growing list of countries around the world which have implemented a bag ban, with Africa often leading the way in tackling plastic waste.

The ban, which comes into effect on 1 June, targets all plastic bags “imported, exported, manufactured, sold, stored, supplied and used”.

Earlier in 2006 Tanzania banned plastic on the semi-autonomous Zanzibar islands, and proposed a country-wide ban on plastic bags in 2015.