War on waste: Kenya’s ban on plastic is the toughest in the world

Kenya has strict laws when it comes to the use of plastic bags. Citizens can be charged up to $38,000 or face a prison sentence of four years if found selling, manufacturing or even carrying plastic bags.

The ban was introduced 14 months ago and is considered the most stringent plastic ban in the world. Cops carry out regular raids to ensure that no plastic bans are in circulation.

Does Kenya’s plastic ban work?

Environmental activist James Wakiba spoke to BBC and explained that plastic bags were “everywhere and littering the environment,” to the detriment of the citizens’ health.

Apart from being “an environmental menace,” Wakiba said the discarded bags were clogging up drains, which in turn would become habitats for mosquitoes. This led to large outbreaks of malaria.

Read: We’re now pooping plastic because pollution is in our food

Simba Coach bosses summoned as bus ferries banned plastic bags https://t.co/0hvS2uPBCB via @TheStarKenya

— NEMA Kenya (@NemaKenya) October 23, 2018

The ban effectively went into law after Wakiba created an online campaign using the hashtag #ISupportBanPlasticsKE. It soon gained popularity in Kenya, and the ban was implemented the following month. Wakiba added:

“We have saved the environment of 100 million plastic bags. That’s something worth to celebrate. […] I’m very proud. I felt that I’ve achieved something.”

Less plastic pollution litter

Market goers say the market areas are much cleaner, with not one plastic bag in sight. Instead, shoppers can purchase reusable bags made from cloth, canvas and other materials.

Since the ban was implemented, more than 500 people have been arrested, with Charles Lange from NEMA – the organisation who enforces the ban – saying that the people who were arrested were “continually entering into illegal activities that involves the use of plastic bags.”

According to Professor Nziko Muthama, the teams went “to the slums to look at how people are trading.” They noticed that, in their favour, only 50% of traders were using plastic bags.

Read: Plastic recycling: What you need to know

Kenya’s plastic ban is an example for the rest of the world

He wants us to be the generation to sustain life on Earth, not the generation who will make Earth uninhabitable for future generations. He is convinced that we can eliminate plastic entirely from our daily lives.

However, not everybody is for the ban. Abel Kamau from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers said the country is losing a lot of money to foreign manufacturers where the use of plastic is still allowed. He said that the ban just forces individuals to operate on the black market instead.

To that, Wakiba said that those countries should follow Kenya’s and Rwanda examples when it comes to the manufacturing and distribution of plastic bags. Rwanda implemented a ban on plastic bags back in 2008 already.

Wakiba said single-use plastic – or anything that cannot be recycled “has no reason for being in circulation.”