Two online petitions have been launched online calling for an outright ban on substandard plastic bags in Kenya on change.org and avaaz.org.
Non-biodegradable, plastic bags thinner than 60 microns are regarded
as non-reusable are causing an environmental hazard and are problematic
to recycle, according to campaigners.
A 2005 report by the United Nations Environmental Program, National
Environment Management Agency and the Kenya Institute for Public Policy
Research and Analysis, claimed that around 100 million plastic bags are
freely given to consumers in supermarkets, grocery stores and kiosks
every year and very few of these are recycled or reused.
Organisers of the petition claim these very thin, one-use plastic
bags are a ‘disaster-in-waiting’, choking lakes, rivers and blocking
major drainage systems in Kenyan towns.
In fact, according to a report by Magdalene Wanja (Daily Nation,
October 2, 2014), a total of 24 tonnes of plastic was collected in 2013
from the shores of Lake Nakuru alone.
The amount of plastic bags and wrappers in our rivers is staggering.
The Kenya Wildlife Service reported that the lake would soon be “too
toxic for the current aquatic life as well as herbivores that often eat
the same non-biodegradable material leading to their deaths”.
Also, the burning of these bags, which is common practice in Kenyan
landfills, contributes to air pollution by releasing harmful carbon when
burned.
Organisers of the petition warn that an outright ban is the only workable solution.
We have already
demonstrated our inability to protect the environment by reckless
dumping, a citizenry that is unaware and does not care, government
agencies that do not work, and NGOs that have forgotten their calling.
They claim that a ban on plastic bags thinner than 60 or even 100
microns is the only way to “cure this malignant tumour eating Kenya” and
that the only plastic bags to be manufactured in the country should be
both reusable and recyclable.
Recently the campaign was seeing support online with #BanPlasticsKe and #ISupportBanPlasticsKe trending on Twitter in Kenya.
In the UK, a 5p charge was placed on plastic bags in supermarkets to encourage the use of reusable carriers.
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
A lobby group in Nakuru on Tuesday presented a petition to the county
assembly clerk Joseph Malinda seeking to have them ban plastic bags in
the region.
The petition, which is spearheaded by Street Nakuru, a
community based organisation, seeks to have the assembly pass a bill
that will see plastic bags of below 100 microns banned in the county
It contained more than 1,000 signatures by Nakuru residents requesting the county to spearhead the debate as soon as possible
While
welcoming the move, Malinda challenged youths to come up with
sustainable projects that will ensure plastic bags are currently
recycled before they pass a bill seeking to control their production and
distribution.
Malinda who spoke in his office pointed out that
the plastic bags were an environmental menace but raised concern that it
can take years before its passed into law.
“We have to understand that a law can take years before it is passed,” he added
James
Wakibia, the brain child of the project, said the county could prevent a
lot of waste if it took care of the plastic bags menace.
“Even
the current cholera problem in the county is as a result of the drainage
problem which occurs as papers are stuck inside the sewer system,” he
added
Wakibia pointed out that Kisii and Meru counties were already looking into possibilities of banning the plastic bags
