Kenya Leads in Tackling Plastic through Policy Change
Kenya is leading the way in an aggressive crack-down on single-use plastics. Georgie takes a deeper look into the issues that brought on such a hefty policy and the benefits it has had on the country as well as others in the Africa.
Illustration by Maddy Smith.
Plastic pollution. We are all aware of the problem. Currently, 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year. This plastic rubbish breaks down into microplastics, which are ingested by fish and birds, and, as a new study discovered, even ends up being consumed by people. It’s fair to say that the problem has become overwhelming. The plastics issue has become so big and has been repeated so often that it has almost lost its impact, even to the most enthusiastic environmentalists. Which is why, when the Kenyan government introduced the most aggressive plastic policy ever seen, the results were not only effective, but also a reminder of why we can and should be prioritising this serious issue.
The problem that Kenya, and many other African countries, are facing, isn’t just regarding the national production of plastics, but the importing of plastic waste from other countries. For instance, 2019 saw American exporters ship over 1 billion pounds of plastic rubbish to 96 countries, Kenya included. And, since China has refused to accept any more rubbish, including recyclables, the West is looking to a number of countries in Africa to deal with its waste. In fact, the oil industry, which is at the heart of the plastic industry, have resorted to lobbying the US government to put pressures on the Kenyan government to loosen up its ban on plastic bags. This idea that certain nations can simply act as the dumping ground for the West’s rubbish presents many African countries with an additional and unfair challenge in the fight against plastic pollution.
This injustice of global inequality in dealing with and being held accountable for environmental damages is not unheard of. In fact, it is paralleled to the theme of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities in the Paris agreement. The idea being that countries that experienced an industrial revolution, and therefore contributed most to climate change, ought to take the lion’s share of the responsibility. Unfortunately, we do not seem to have the same approach when it comes to plastic pollution. The West continues to disregard the environmental and ethical impact it has on countries in the African continent. This ‘sweep it under the carpet’ mentality of the West is an insight into how Western countries consider (or don’t consider as the case may be) their impact on the natural world. Practicing an out of sight, out of mind attitude regarding waste is not only obnoxious, but unethical.
Although countries like Kenya have been dealt the unfair hand of being dumped with other countries’ waste, it is still managing to lead the way with its ground-breaking policies on plastics. In fact, many countries in Africa are implementing more progressive policies for tackling plastics, more progressive than the Western countries whose plastic they are taking.
In 2017, Kenya put in place the strictest ban on plastic bags in the world. Punishments were brought in for anyone producing, selling or using a plastic bag, with fines reaching as high as £31,000 or up to four years in prison. This might seem like an extreme punishment for something as small as plastic bags, but the pollution of plastics in Kenya was causing havoc and serious action was needed. Before the ban, approximately 100 million plastic bags were being distributed every year from supermarkets. Plastic was being found in the stomachs of animals, blocking waterways, and littering streets, parks and beaches, deterring tourists in the process. In shanty towns in Nairobi, plastic bags were even being used as toilets.
Four years on and the results are enlightening. In 2019, the Kenyan government stated that roughly 80% of the population no longer use plastic bags. Tourism stakeholders praised the ban when it came out, emphasising the damage the pollution was doing to the sector. Where abattoirs had found plastic in the stomachs of approximately 3 out of 10 animals before the ban, this is now down to roughly 1 out of 10. Research shows that the policy is even impacting slums, where plastic would normally be found everywhere. Now, 5 out 10 traders in the slums are already complying to this policy. On top of this, not only has the ban shaped the production and purchasing of plastic waste but encouraged an innovative use of plastics. One company discovered a way of using this waste as a resource. Nzambi Matee, the founder of Gjenge Makers Ltd, created a way of converting plastics into building products. Instead of companies paying to dispose of their plastic waste, they give it to Gjenge Makers cost-free. Matee’s company then turns it into building products, such as the 1000-1500 plastic bricks produced each day. This innovation not only creates jobs but contributes to solving the plastic pollution problem.
Kenya’s policy reflects the level of priority that the country is giving to the plastic pollution problem. It is something that countries such as the UK could learn from. This leadership in tackling plastic pollution has overflowed from Kenya and into other African countries. Ghana, another country that was drowning in plastic, is now leading the way in recycling. The country was the first African nation to join the Global Plastic Action Partnership to end plastic pollution. One serious factor in the relationship between Ghana and its plastic pollution is its waste pickers. Waste pickers are typically women, collecting rubbish in exchange for money from recycling companies, many of whom depend on this as their main or only source of income. In Ghana, 218 tonnes of plastic waste are recovered by waste pickers daily, making up nearly 12% of the overall amount of plastic waste generated. The problem is regulating and monitoring this industry, most workers go unseen or unprotected, meaning they get paid far below their value. New software, however, could change this. SAP, a global software producer, are building a digital system that will collect and manage data on waste pickers to ensure that they are not being exploited and are being paid fair wages. Like Kenya, Ghana also boasts innovative businesses trying to make the most of the pollution situation. Makafui Awuku is the founder and Executive Director of Mckingtorch Creatives, where he turns plastic waste into products such as dustbins, sandals, artwork and a portable toilet. In his view, since plastic is literally “all over the place”, it has become one of the most available resources of Ghana.
Rwanda has been working on its plastic problem long before the Kenyan ban came into place. The country introduced its ban in 2008 and its capital, Kigali, has since been hailed the cleanest city on the planet. The results immediately showed fewer blockages of water drains and littering on the streets. The ban is taken so seriously that, where there are few exceptions to the rules, such as hotels using cling film to cover food, specific permission is needed from government inspectors. On top of this, tourism has since become one of Rwanda’s fastest growing industries. This zero-tolerance policy is yet another example of the level of prioritisation of tackling plastic pollution that could be implemented elsewhere in the world.
So, what is there to learn from these countries’ approach to plastic waste? Even though places like Kenya or Ghana are having to cope with the additional burden of managing the waste of the West as well as their own, they are overtaking Western countries in tackling this overwhelming problem. Policies that enforce a zero-tolerance standard for plastics prove that the issue of plastics is being taken seriously. Although many countries have used taxes or other softer policies to deter citizens from using disposable bags, the quickest way to end plastic pollution is to put in bans as seen in countries like Kenya and Rwanda. In the case of environmental change, policies and bans speak much louder than words. We can only hope that the same standards will be applied here in the UK.
Georgie Power
Georgie Power recently completed an MSc in Climate Change in Dublin City University, studying the environmental, economic, political and social implications of climate change. In working with the Carbon Disclosure Project, helping companies around the world manage and report their carbon emissions, she learned of the role that corporations have in the transition to a sustainable and ethical economy. Now, she works as a climate change author, focusing on her passions for sharing solution-based information for environmental issues and the social, political and economic influences they have on our world.
You can find more of her work on Instagram @easy.beinggreen.