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The announcement by National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) on the ban on plastic bags two weeks before its effect has left Kenyans wondering what alternative waste disposal and storage method alternatives will be available to them.

Despite the announcement first being made earlier in the year, NEMA was not clear on how the ban would be implemented and how businesses and individuals would transition from the most popular form of waste disposal, storage and packaging method in the country.

There have been questions regarding the manner in which the ban will be carried out as well as the legality of it as stated by one Twitter user @Keguro, who cited the Environmental Management and Coordination Act which governs NEMA.

Keguro quoted section 86 of the ACT which requires NEMA other banning plastic bags to issue guidelines on how to handle, store and destroy existing plastic bags and advise on standard means of disposal of waste.

When asked online on what alternatives they would prescribe for garbage bags, NEMA’s response was that people should deposit their waste directly into garbage bins.

 

Would these garbage bins be provided by NEMA?

 

The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) CEO, Phyllis Wakiaga, will on behalf of the association petition the president regarding the execution and clarification of the ban. This is to allow manufacturers to make adjustments towards compliance by reorganizing their plans and internal operations.

According to Wakiaga, public statements and posting of FAQs by NEMA on the website will not serve as a legal document once the ban is effected. In order for the  policy to be successful, a legal document or re-gazetting of the specific items targeted in the ban is needed. It will also ensure that the ban is carried out in a just and effective manner and protect legitimate local businesses from unfair treatment and additional taxes.

The KAM CEO, had this to say, “More often than not, if changes in policy are abrupt, then businesses tend to incur major costs in order to make the necessary adjustments and in some cases have to shut down entirely, laying off workers and bearing huge losses. But above all, any such changes made by government requiring businesses to comply within a certain period, need to be clearly articulated.”

That is, new policies need to be concise about the manner in which they will be executed and which authorities are charged with this execution. This is to avoid any vagueness or uncertainty which may then lead to a lot of businesses not being able to plan for the changes adequately.

A good case in point is the gazetting of the plastic ban. The gazette notice which was, in the first place, issued without stakeholder consultation has been vague in its articulation of how the ban will be effected. The ban, as currently gazetted, is a total ban on all plastic bags including industrial plastic packaging​ since it affects plastic carrier bags and flat bags,” adds Wakiaga.

The ban on plastic bags, while being a great idea, may not necessarily be the panacea that NEMA is looking for  for Kenya’s garbage or environmental problems. Even if for example, the ban takes effect and biodegradable bags are provided, what will stop those bags from littering our streets and clogging drainage like they do now?

 

 

In as much as taking care of environment by not littering being a collective responsibility, one that solutions that would compliment the ban would  be the introduction and effective operation of waste markets where suppliers (garbage companies) interact with buyers (recycling companies) who turn the waste into new products and profit from it.

An example of a company that is not only making profits through its products but also cleaning up the environment and providing jobs is Ocean Sole. It is a Kenyan company that collects plastic flip-flops discarded on Kenyan beaches, recycles them and makes statuettes of Kenyan wildlife. One visit to Masai Market will also show how some vendors are recycling paper to make notebooks, old padlocks and bottle caps to make jewellery. These are some of the businesses that would benefit from a waste market.

 

Kenyan government has some good ideas but often, they seem like knee jerk reactions to problems as the solutions are rarely well thought out.