Four years after the ban of single-use plastic bags in Kenya, there is rampant smuggling of harmful bags at the porous border points.
An investigative study conducted by four environment organisations indicates that single-use plastic bags still easily find their way at entry points, largely from Uganda and Tanzania ports bordering Kenya.
According to the study dubbed, "illegal trade and smuggling of plastic bags in the East African Community bloc", the majority of single-use plastic bags remain unbranded to avoid being traced back to manufacturers.
To effectively enact the ban, the four environment organisations which include Centre for Environment Justice and Development (Kenya), Nipe Fagio (Tanzania), Bio Vision Africa (Uganda) and Global Initiative for Environment and Reconciliation (Rwanda), the government must enhance the efficiency of the officers manning the porous borders across the East African Community entry points.
"More vigilant searches on the border points should be conducted to reduce consumption through awareness and education on the implications of continued use of single-use plastic bags on human health and the environment at large," said the study.
The study also suggested that governments need to find more sustainable subsidised packaging alternatives to curb the illicit plastic bags trade across the trading block.
To achieve this goal, the four organisations further called for subsidising the cost of producing biodegradable packaging materials that would allow for a more sustainable alternative to plastic bags to be available for consumption.
"The EAC should develop and harmonise regional laws and enhance regional cooperation by putting in place regional instruments to support the elimination of manufacturing and illicit trade of harmful plastic bags across the borders," read part of the recommendations.
The study also noted that strengthening surveillance of lawbreakers and empowering implementing bodies will go a long way in curbing the illegal trade.
In Kenya, the study urged the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) to crack the whip on large scale manufacturers and suppliers of single-use plastics.
Single-use plastic items including plastic bags have been contributing to several environmental challenges including blocking of water channels and the prevention of water from seeping into the soils, thus causing land degradation which has greatly impacted food production in the region.
Regulations against single-use plastic bags were introduced in Kenya in 2017 and three years later they were banned.
Before the ban, the plastic industry distributed approximately 100 million plastic shopping bags every month to supermarkets, which contributed immensely to pollution on land and water sources.
