The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has declared today as the deadline for the use of plastic bags in garbage collection and disposal.
- The authority had issued a 90-day notice in April this year, mandating both county-managed and private garbage collectors to provide biodegradable bags for organic waste to their clients.
- The directive was adopted in line with Section 12 of the Sustainable Waste Management Act, 2022, which requires collectors to separate waste into organic and non-organic forms.
- The ban comes to effect seven years after the government phased out the use of plastic bags for retail and commercial purposes.
“All organic waste generated by households, private sector, and public sector institutions, religious institutions, private and public functions and events shall strictly be segregated and placed in 100% biodegradable bags and bin liners only,” said the statement from the Authority.
NEMA’s decision is likely to increase the cost of garbage collection in many Kenyan households as cheaper plastic bags are abandoned. When retail outlets were compelled to ditch single-use plastic bags in 2017, customers had to pay for alternative carrier bags.
The environmental authority believes that progressively eradicating the need for plastic bags will substantially help its efforts in managing pollution. Plastic bags are not easily degradable and their proliferation remains a challenge for many cities across the world.
Plastic bag bans have varied rates of success in many countries where they have been applied. In Rwanda and Kenya, the plastic carrier bags have largely been eradicated but smaller polythene bags are still smuggled into the Kenyan market.
In countries like the United States, the ban on plastic bags in certain States has led to uproar as alternatives remain scarce.
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