Kenya’s ban on production, sale and use of plastic carrier bags in 2017 is considered one of the sternest in the world and whose success rate is now recorded at approximately 80 percent.
The country has since made tremendous strides in the fight against plastic pollution, with a ban on specific single-use plastics in all protected areas taking effect from June 2020. There are also ongoing and ambitious plastics initiatives such as the Kenya Plastic Action Plan and the development of the Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organization (KEPRO).
The PRO, once established, will ensure plastics are collected, sorted and recycled after use — giving producers a significant responsibility for the post-consumer phase of single-use goods under a scheme referred to as an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
However, more needs to be done to increase momentum on the efforts to address the environmental crisis, especially as we continue to deal with the ravaging effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. We just entered another lockdown period, and as the pandemic persists, so are the use of single-use masks, sanitiser bottles as well as other related plastic products. All these, endg up somewhere in the environment. Read more
