BANNED: CS JUDI WAKHUNGU BANS PLASTICS BAGS
You may love your plastic bags but it is simply a matter of time before you find a new way to carry your goodies following a ban announced on Tuesday by Environment CS Judy Wakhungu.
The CS made the announcement following a gazette notice posted on February 28th of 2017 which in part reads, “The CS for Environment and Natural Resources has with effect from six months from date of this notice banned the manufacture, importation and use of all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging.
This, in effect, means that by September plastic bags should effectively be off the market.
Last year, a bill sponsored by Umoja MCA Njoroge Maina aimed at encouraging the re-use of paper bags or the use of alternatives to reduce plastic waste generation. The bill tabled in Nairobi also proposed fines for retailers and shoppers found carrying polythene bags in the city.
According to the bill, a retailer who fails to charge customers for the bags could be jailed for up to 12 months or fined up to Sh3 million, or both. The bill further proposed that proceeds be used in City Hall for use in environmental management but in the current bill, the provision has been struck out that provision.
A 2007 attempt at cleaning up the country by banning the manufacture and import of bags widely failed.
Rwanda is the only country in the region which has effectively banned use of plastic bags.
Source :Daily Nation
