Shoppers beware: Ban on polythene bags on the way

You are likely to enjoy carrying your shopping from the supermarket in a polythene bag for just a few more weeks, as it will soon be illegal to carry a polythene paper bag in the city. The County Assembly has drafted a new set of laws that will prohibit use of polythene bags in Nairobi, popular amongst shoppers and retailers for packing grocery and other items.

The ramifications of the laws will be far reaching, since the manufacture and distribution of the bags is a big industry. It is a source of livelihood for many Nairobians as well as a lucrative business for importers and manufacturers.

The Nairobi City County Plastic Bags Control Bill, 2014 is likely to alter the way goods are packaged in the city should it be enacted, and may render some people jobless, besides leading to the close down of polythene bag manufacturing factories. The Bill seeks to control the manufacture, usage and disposal of plastic bags and other polythene products to restore and maintain a clean environment.

Harm to environment

The sponsor of the Bill, Abdi Hassan Guyo, the leader of minority, in drawing up the proposed set of laws, was informed by the fact that polythene plays a big role in environmental degradation.

If passed, the law will compel City Hall to provide garbage receptacles at convenient locations for the collection of non-bio-degradable waste, which are to be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.

Should the law come to force, the county government will have to carry out and sponsor investigation and research on the problem of plastic waste, in addition to planning and organising training of people engaged in the manufacture, use and disposal of plastics.

Awareness programmes will also be carried out on the dangers of plastic usage.

“The main objective of this Bill is to outline legislative measures for controlling the manufacture, usage and disposal of plastic carry bags and other plastic products, including recycled plastic and pigmented carry bags; to conserve, restore and maintain a clean environment, as well as control pollution pursuant to the county government provisions in by Part II of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution,” says the Bill’s memorandum.