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"id": 196437,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. C. Kilonzo",
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"legal_name": "Charles Mutavi Kilonzo",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, recognizing the immense contribution to the economy by the plastic industry, and further appreciating the fact that management of plastic wastes has for a long time been a major issue of concern for both the Government and the plastics manufacturing sector, this House grants leave to introduce a Bill for an Act of Parliament entitled \"the Plastics Control Bill\" to regulate the production, distribution, consumption, recycling and disposal of plastics in the country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, today, there is no law dealing with production, distribution, consumption, recycling and disposal of plastics in the country. The Plastics Control Bill seeks to control that multi-billion Kenya Shillings industry. For one to understand the importance of the proposed Plastics Control Bill, we need to look at the plastics sub-sector industry. For a start, we have between 110 to 115 plastics factories in Kenya, including recycling plants. The industry employs about 18,500 people directly. More than three times that number are employed indirectly in distribution, retail and other levels in the chain of supply. Those factories, combined, have a production output of about 15,000 tonnes per month. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, plastics are not only what we manufacture. There are plastics which are imported. For example, from 1989 to 2003, we imported over 300,000 tonnes of plastics and plastic sacks into the country. The plastics industry itself is actually growing at a rate of between 8 per cent and 10 per cent annually. That means we have more jobs for our people and more revenue is being collected by the Government. At the same time, we have multiple problems with the waste management evolving from the industry. The industry supplies its products locally. Locally, you will realise that the biggest consumers and beneficiaries of plastics are the poor people. Those are the people who go shopping. They cannot afford glass bottles. They use plastic bags to buy paraffin, cooking fat and so on. So, the industry supplies the local market and also the region. Even the European market is supplied through the same industry, through the flower sector. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are talking about an industry which is contributing about Kshs1.3 billion in form of Value Added Tax (VAT), about Kshs300 million in corporate taxes and, of course, another Kshs300,000 also on Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE). Despite that impressive look, the industry and the country lack a well-functioning waste management system and a legal framework to regulate the production, distribution, consumption, recycling and disposal of plastics in the country. Why do we have a problem with plastics? Why do we have rampant plastics in the country? Why are we complaining? Why do we need legislation? Because of lack of legislation, today, plastic bags are being manufactured from non-renewable and non-biodegradable material. This situation is very pathetic. When you go to virtually all urban centres and cities, the situation is terrible. We see plastics lying all over. Also, low public awareness on the responsible disposal of wastes has contributed to the present trends of littering without caring. It has resulted in pollution by the plastic bags. A common example is when you are driving and you go to a petrol station convenient shop. You buy yoghurt, water, sweets which are packed in plastics and you are driving all the way to Mombasa. You go throwing those plastics through the window and nobody will ask you anything purely because you do not have legislation. We need legislation which will be a deterrent to such offenders. Another reason why we have a serious problem of plastics is because we have a relatively low recycling of post-consumer plastic wastes by the formal manufacturing sector. Failure by local authorities who have the mandate to ensure proper garbage collection and disposal is, perhaps, one of the biggest issues we need to address. Most local authorities are unable to carry out garbage collection and disposal duties. We know that local authorities have by-laws which have proved to be ineffective in deterring littering, illegal dumping and open burning of wastes. That has resulted April 16, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 471 in the mushrooming of the private sector, which is actually not regulated. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, another cause of the problem is that majority of the end consumers are not paying for the advance impact that waste plastics are causing on the environment. Another cause is outdated local authorities by-laws. They are very weak in their ability to deter offenders. A sizeable proportion of inhabitants in urban areas live in informal settlements which lack basic sanitary and waste management infrastructure; for instance, Mathare, Dandora where we have the biggest dumping site, Kangemi, Kawangware, Kibera and so on. In those settlements, the adverse impact of plastic waste is highly pronounced, as the practice is open dumping. In addition, those areas serve as a dumping ground for garbage from high income areas. We spend more in areas where people have high incomes like Lavington and Karen, and the garbage is taken to where the poor people live. We need to have legislation to address those issues. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are many solutions but, without proper legislation, they have no purpose. I know that National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) and Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) have come up with quite reasonable proposals but, without legislation, those proposals are actually of no use. It is for that reason that we need this Bill to go through, to ensure that only plastics, for example, of recyclable thickness are allowed in the Kenyan market, whether manufactured locally or imported. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, separation of plastic waste from other wastes should be encouraged at the source. If you go to the United Kingdom (UK), for instance, the wastes are separated at the source. That is also practised in virtually all parts of Europe and the United States of America (USA). If it is a restaurant you are going to, the wastes should be separated at the source. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need legislation to encourage consumer awareness and anti- littering laws so that, a person who throws a bottle of plastic from his car, and is caught, can face the consequences. We need to have a law which will phase out the production of flimsy plastics. Those are the ones that are blown away by the wind. They are actually very thin and light. Those are the ones which kill our livestock. They are the ones which are not biodegradable. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the development of a well-managed disposal system to cater for plastic bags that will enter the waste stream is also crucial. We need to have plastic manufacturers compelled to recycle a particular percentage of their industrial output. We know it is more expensive to recycle. But we need to have laws. For you to be licensed to operate in this country, a particular percentage of the raw materials should be from recycled plastics. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the last Parliament, in the Finance Bill, we introduced some taxes. But we need to be very careful, because some of the taxes we introduce will kill the industry and will encourage the use of imported plastics. This will not solve the problem. When we are dealing with the issue of taxes, we need to ensure that the taxes we introduce are environmentally effective, economically efficient and the administration cost is efficient. They should also be acceptable. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill is long overdue. If this Bill goes through, it will bring a big change to this country. We are saying that we should not kill the plastics industry. There are countries which have killed this industry. The biggest consumers of plastics are the very poor. Rather than kill the industry, through taxation, we should introduce this Bill to ensure that we do not have a problem of a polluted environment. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to move the Motion and ask Mr. Rege to second it."
}