Kenyan Government Bans Plastic Bags, Implements Hefty Fines for Manufacturers, Retailers

On Monday, a landmark plastic ban – dubbed the strictest in the world – took effect in Kenya.

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Cabinet Secretary for environment and natural resources, Judi Wakhungu, previously announced, on Feb. 28, that the plastic bag ban would be implemented at the end of August, to boost the country's green credentials.

Wakhungu's statement was met with some concern from retailers who feared its likely impact on their businesses.

According to a Xinhua report, small-scale retailers were not generally opposed to the ban, since it would reduce environmental pollution, but urged authorities to provide them with alternative packaging.

"A transition from plastic bags to eco-friendly alternatives is a laudable move. As small business owners, we welcome this decision but hope the government has put in place solid measures to cushion us from financial losses," a grocery store owner at a Nairobi suburb said.

The Aug. 26 High Court ruling prompted retailers to discard their stockpiles or face huge fines.

Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000 beginning Monday.

The country has over 30 licensed plastic bag manufacturers with a combined capital investment estimated at $80 million. These plastic manufacturers employ about 9,000 people, who face job loss.

But, the State remains resolute, dismissing any possibility of a walk back on the decision to phase out plastic bags, urging manufacturers and retailers to choose eco-friendly options.

"I think people should be more conscious of the negative impact plastic bags are having on the environment. At the same time, we need to be mindful of small scale traders who rely on plastic bags for packaging. They should not suffer unnecessary losses," said Elvin Obure, a Nairobi youth.

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Kenya joins more than 40 other countries, including China, France, Rwanda and Italy, that have banned, partly banned or taxed single use plastic bags.

The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) disclosed that plastic carrier bags contributed nine percent of total solid waste and are to blame for 90 percent of environmental degradation in the country.

The bags often end up the ocean and become a threat to sea life – strangling turtles, suffocating seabirds and filling the stomachs of dolphins and whales with waste until they die of starvation.

“If we continue like this, by 2050, we will have more plastic in the ocean than fish,” said Habib El-Habr, an expert on marine litter working with the U.N. Environment Programme in Kenya.

Plastic bags, according to El-Habr takes between 500 to 1,000 years to break down.