Plastics ban on beaches and national parks laudable

Indeed, although plastics have their advantages, the long term negative effects associated with them far outweigh anything positive about them.

The law banning single use plastics in national parks, along beaches, in forests and conservation areas comes into effect this Friday.

The ban on plastic bottle, plate, cup, among others, was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta during the Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver, Canada.

The ban on these plastics in national parks, beaches and forests is in addition to the one imposed on plastic carrier bags in August 2017. 

Indeed, although plastics have their advantages, the long term negative effects associated with them far outweigh anything positive about them.

It does not help that plastic is non-biodegradable, therefore a nuisance for generations to come as it continues to choke not just the soil, but the seas, oceans and lakes, and with it, valuable marine life.

Domestic and wild animals have not been spared the dangers of plastic carelessly discarded by the roadside and in parks by visitors. A number of them have died from ingesting the plastic.

Quite often, drainage in urban areas gets clogged, in turn, leading to serious flooding in some residential areas. The major culprit in most of these cases is the plastic that uncaring people carelessly throw into trenches and the drainage systems, thus causing blockages.

That is why the Government should consider extending the new ban on plastics to the entire country, besides the national parks, beaches and forests.

However, banning plastics is not enough. Despite the 2017 ban, plastic bags can still be found in use by small-scale traders.

Someone is clearly sleeping on the job, which defeats the purpose for concerted environmental protection efforts.