PLASTIC CARRIER/FLAT BAGS BAN: OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS.

On 28^thFebeuary, 2017, the government of Kenya banned the use,manufacture and importation of all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging defined as follows: carrier bags and flat bags. This has in return created a wave of uncertainty despite the fact that there has been a conversation around the use of plastic bags for over ten years.

After the gazette Notice was issued, Kenya Association of Manufacturers and Consumer Federation of Kenya issued a statement on the same. See the KAM statement here: 

http://www.kam.co.ke/local-manufacturers-not-consulted-ban-plastic-bags/

Whereas I am not a trained environmentalist, I have a passion for the environment and this explains why I had to take my dad heads on when he threw a plastic soda bottle through the car window on our way from the village to the Capital City-Nairobi. I had to let him know that he has no right to complain that our drainage is clogged during the rainy season as he is part of the problem. Whereas this was a dad-son conversation, I am sure that he will in future restrain himself from doing so. I was lucky to have mum on board as she knows very well where my heart is when it comes to matters environment. My mum runs a small roadside grocery shop where she uses plastic carrier bags a lot. In this regard, Mrs. Me (My wife) and I have this deal; dispose not any plastic carrier bags if they have not shifted to the second or third hand. To make sure that this deal sees the light of the day, we ensure that 99% of our super market branded carrier bags are collected and when we have a substantial amount of them, we take them to mum where in return she gives them to customers who buy large quantities of groceries.

 

The battle goes beyond large sizes of paper bags. Whereas the carrier bags and the flat bags are the ones that have been banned, I have in the past had to make my wife understand why she comes across sweet wrappers and Njugu Karanga wrappers in my pockets as she does her laundry. This is for the simple reason that I don’t  throw away such papers carelessly but have to carry them home and in return put them in our dustbin save for the few  times that I forget doing so and am sure this irritates her! Am however glad that she now understands why and she is now my partner in plastic paper waste management.

For an observant person, a visit to City Park Hawkers market makes one notice a unique shopping trend. In here, Indian shoppers usually come with large baskets that they use to do their shopping hence minimizing the use of Plastic bag carriers. Whereas I have not had time to inquire whether this is a cultural trend or a calculated move to reduce use of plastic bags, the shopping trend cannot go un noticed and the role that it plays in conserving our environment cannot be ignored as this is ‘not very Kenyan’.

Recently, the sad reality hit me once more on my way from Nairobi to the village as the matatu driver who was ferrying us first threw a soda bottle, later bought sugar cane and after chewing the same threw the trash through the window and to add salt to injury, another young lady who was in the same matatu threw her yoghurt packages through the window with less care. In short, the level of awareness on plastic paper waste management is very low and I hope NEMA and other agencies will be working on this within the six months set dead line.

  

At another shopping center, i met Wachira, my long time business buddy who sells Kerosene and plastic papers and asked him how he was planning to survive beyond the ban. Whereas he was blank, we had to agree that he has to now find opportunities to make money beyond the ban hence he must start to scout for alternatives and cash in on the same. 

 

Whereas much of the conversation has been on how difficult it will be to enforce this ban, Rwanda government launched a policy to ban all non-biodegradable plastic from the country several years ago.  In the year 2008, while the rest of the world was barely starting to consider a tax on single-use plastic bags, the small East African Nation decided to ban them completely-The Guardian.  At the Airport, agents from the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority ensure that that no one takes in plastic paper into this clean country. Since 2008, anyone arriving in Rwanda is ordered to give up their plastic or have it confiscated. Flight attendants pre-warn passengers as they land in the capital Kigali and authorities are braces to seize this new form of contraband at the border with other African Nations.-France254.com. In return Rwanda was awarded the cleanest city in Africa by U.N. Habitat but this came at a cost. See: https://qz.com/509948/kigali-is-africas-cleanest-city-but-that-comes-at-a-heavy-price/

In Kenya, Solid Waste management is a multi-billion cartel controlled venture where resistance from such quotas will be expected. Despite the existence of a National Solid Waste Management Strategy in Kenya, plastic papers form a bulk of this waste that even the 200 Million exercise duty collected by the government cannot foot the cost of managing it. Whereas this is a serious headache, plastic Carrier bags manufacturers will be expected to put up a spirited fight too.

However, the government must enlist the support  of all stakeholders like it did during the second generation brew fight if the ban is to see the light of the day. Milk vendors, groceries vendors and Kerosene vendors will also be expected to play a huge role if the ban is to bear fruit. Like petrol stations, they must insist that one has to come with a plastic bottle or jerry can if he/she has to purchase these products.  Proper training of enforcement officers especially those at the boarders will also be a welcome move but without a well laid down anti-corruption strategy, several setbacks will be expected as black markets will thrive under the watch of the same enforcement officers. 

 

The government should also move with speed to support private sector ventures that are involved in plastic paper recycling whereas companies that used to manufacture such bags must be given tax incentives and encouraged to start recycling plants too. Revival of the Sisal Industry will also go a long way towards ensuring that the ban is sustainable whereas use of reeds, water hyacinth and other locally available bio-degradable materials will create more options for consumers of shopping carriers. There is a very huge opportunity for the women and youth groups to cash in on this ban. Kiondo that has almost become extinct is bound to re surface where with minimum modification; they urban folks will not find it difficult to carry it as they head for shopping.

Women weaving Kiondos

The Pessimist complains about the wind; the Optimist expects it to change; the Realist adjusts the sails.-William Arthur.