Plasticnot Welcome

Kenya seeks to eliminate plastic packaging, an environmental scourge on a national and even continental scale

John Onyango lives in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. As he comes out of a downtown supermarket on an afternoon in October, the 61-year-old mechanic is carrying fruit in a recyclable cloth bag. Just two months ago, he said, commodities from the same store used to be packed in plastic bags.

Since August 28, the use, production and import of plastic bags have been prohibited in the East African country. The ban targets mainly bags that used to be handed out by shops, but does not apply to packaged goods or garbage bags. In doing so, Kenya follows the example of several African countries that previously banned or restricted the use of plastic bags due to their disastrous ecological impact. The measure is drastic: offenders face fines up to $38,000 and imprisonment for up to four years.