By James Wakibia
Twitter @jwakibia
Plastic bags are an environment disaster; they do not naturally
decompose, they choke marine life, they clog drains, they fill our
landfills ,they are habitats of mosquitoes and burning them produces
toxic carbon emissions .The more they are produced and not recycled the
more our environment gets choked , question is , until when?
It is necessary therefore to provide a way forward on their
production and disposal. A week ago, Nairobi faced one of the worst
floods possibly in its history after drains were clogged, roads rendered
impassable, people died, and others got injured while property worth
millions was destroyed. Most people are blaming solid waste for the
floods; they believe plastic paper bags blocked drainage systems where
runoff passes. There is a undisputable correlation between solid waste
disposal especially plastic bags and the flooding.
Plastic bags especially those issued in supermarkets are a major
source of solid waste in Kenya. Some of them are so flimsy they cannot
be recycled or even reused. Environmentalists say all plastics bags
below 60 microns are non-recyclable but the shocking thing is that we
have some as thick as 7 microns, so thin such that handling them for
purposes of recycling is impossible. Once they leave the supermarkets
and food groceries, they are thrown by the road side while majority find
their way into landfills.
Landfills in Kenya are open and lack management policies; in fact our
dumpsites are places where we dump all kind of trash whether
biodegradable like banana peels or non-biodegradable like plastic bags,
all are dumped without any regard for solid waste management
regulations. That underscores the very need to have proper waste
disposal and management bodies, those that can implement laws .I do not
see National Environment Management Authority as competent enough to
deal with the scourge unless it is overhauled and new officers get on
board. Those in offices seem overwhelmed or have no idea on what to do.
In 2007 and 2011, the government had proposed a ban on plastic bags
with a thickness of 60 microns and below, the implementation failed
after business men and politicians thwarted the good proposals which may
have saved our country from immense pollution. Last year the county
government of Nairobi had planned to debate a bill that could have led
to a ban on the same plastics but all that went under the bridge and we
don’t even have a clue as to what happened. Did the county government of
Nairobi go to bed with the greedy business men whose sole interest is
to amass more wealth as they tear down our environment with cheap
plastic bags?
Another
question I would want answered is the responsibility of our
supermarkets who issue these bags, what is their role in the
environment. I thought since they are the biggest suppliers of these
bags, they need too to track where they go, not that they do not know
but they should be at the fore front teaching their customers on ethics
in proper plastic bags management and disposal while trying as much as
possible to use high quality plastics bags that are easy to recycle and
reuse. Just like how carbon trading goes so should be with plastic bags
manufacturers and supermarkets.
Rwanda did it, the country is a darling to many for it is a beautiful clean town, Uganda is doing it, what is Kenya waiting for?
Writer is an environmental activist and blogger In Nakuru
Article first published by standardnewspaper Ureport
|
PHOTO BY Jwakibia |