Government bans use of plastic bags (nylon bags)
The government of Kenya has banned the use of plastic bags in the country, and those found in violation of the banned could be given a maximum fine of 40,000 dollars or risk imprisonment of up to four years.
Kenya joins more than 40 other countries in the world that have banned, partly banned or taxed single use plastic bags, including China, France, Rwanda, and Italy.
According to report, many bags drift into the ocean, strangling turtles, suffocating seabirds and filling the stomachs of dolphins and whales with waste until they die of starvation.
According to marine expert who work with the UN Environment Programme in Kenya Habib El-Habr “If we continue like this, by 2050, we will have more plastic in the ocean than fish”.
Plastic bags, which El-Habr says take between 500 to 1,000 years to break down, also enter the human food chain through fish and other animals.
In Nairobi the state capital of Kenya, in the slaughterhouses, some cows destined for human consumption had 20 bags removed from their stomachs.
“This is something we didn’t get ten years ago but now its almost on a daily basis,” said county vet Mbuthi Kinyanjui.
Kenya’s law allows police to go after anyone even carrying a plastic bag.
Kenya environment minister, Wakhungu, Judy said enforcement would initially be directed at manufacturers and suppliers.
It took Kenya three attempts over ten years to finally pass the ban, and not everyone is a fan.
According to spokesman, for the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Samuel Matonda, said it would cost 60,000 jobs and force 176 manufacturers to close.
Kenya is a major exporter of plastic bags to the region. “The knock-on effects will be very severe,” Matonda said.
“It will even affect the women who sell vegetables in the market, how will their customers carry their shopping home?”
Big Kenyan supermarket chains like France’s Carrefour and Nakumatt have already started offering customers cloth bags as alternatives.
Follow us on Facebook – Dailyfamily.ng, Twitter – @DailyfamilyNG , Whatsapp +2348188889427, BBM PIN D86722A7 and instagram @dailyfamilyng for more updates.
