HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 212003,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/212003/?format=api",
"text_counter": 168,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Awori",
"speaker_title": "The Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 290,
"legal_name": "Moody Arthur Awori",
"slug": "moody-awori"
},
"content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, July 25, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 15 Sir, hon. J.M. Mutiso, the hon. Member for Kilome, requested a Ministerial Statement on the ban on plastic carrier bags. On behalf of the Minister for Local Government, who is out of the country, I beg to make the following Statement. Plastic waste is a major environmental and public health problem in Kenya, especially in urban areas. The management of plastic waste is often weak due to lack of appropriate planning, inadequate governance, poor technology, poor enforcement of existing legislation and the absence of policy incentives to promote environmentally sound plastic waste management. In Kenya, approximately 80 million plastic bags are given out every day by supermarkets and, two times as many, by the informal sector. Supermarkets alone give out approximately one million plastic bags every year to shoppers in Nairobi. The problem of over-use, misuse, indiscriminate and inadvertent littering of plastic bags is a real one in Nairobi. This is clearly evident from the City's landscape, which is dotted by plastic shopping bags of all sizes and colours. Such plastic bags are given out for free. There is a tendency for excessive consumption and misuse. In addition, majority of the bags produced are too thin and fragile to be re-used. These are susceptible to inadvertent littering. There are several problems associated with the littering of plastic bags, including visual pollution, blockage of gutters and drains, threat to aquatic life when plastic bags find their way to water bodies and livestock deaths arising from the consumption of the plastic bags. Further, when filled with rain water, plastic bags become a breeding ground for mosquitoes which cause malaria and other water-borne diseases. Through a consultative programme supported by the UNEP, a comprehensive plastic waste management strategy for Nairobi was prepared and adopted for the stakeholders on 22nd June, 2006. The highlights of the strategy, which seeks to achieve sustainable plastic waste management practices, include the minimization of the production of plastic materials at source, initiating programmes for stimulating sound material cycle society, that is based on a three \"R\" approach of \"reducing, re-using and re-cycling\", that is supported by economic instruments, building capacity and commitment through knowledge management and transfer supported by timely access to information by all stakeholders. The strategy will also create an integrated approach to plastic waste management and the implementation of a 30-micron thickness of plastic packaging with an aim of reducing the thin plastic menace in the environment. The strategy for Nairobi is to be replicated in all urban centres in the country. Internationally, the use of plastic bags has been phased out and Kenya was not going to be left out in this, if we are to support the implementation of some of the international agreements such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development to which Kenya is a signatory. Countries like South Africa, China and Tanzania have applied levies, charges and taxes for the use of these materials. Outright bans, setting of minimum thickness standards have been successfully embraced in Rwanda, South Africa, Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong and Somalia. The introduction of cleaner alternatives have been successfully adopted in South Africa, Rwanda, India, Hong Kong and Singapore. The Ministry of Local Government has reviewed all these cases, looked at the legal provisions within the country and found it appropriate to start by introducing the ban on inferior plastic bags in order to reduce environmental and health problems created by plastic bags. Under Cap.265, Section 201 of the Laws of Kenya, the Ministry of Local Government which is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the operations of 175 local authorities in the country, has mandated them to make by-laws in respect of all such matters as necessary or desirable, for the maintenance of the health, safety and well-being of the inhabitants. It is under this Section that the Nairobi City Council (NCC), which produces 2,200 tonnes of solid waste per day, of which, 20 per cent is plastic, has enacted a by-law, which imposed the ban on polythene carry-bags of less than 30 microns. Only about 5 per cent is recycled, leaving 16 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 25, 2007 152,570 tonnes in the environment every year. Nairobi produces about 192,836 tonnes of plastics per year. Of the annual plastic production, 49,000 tonnes per year, is plastic bags. Of the total plastic bags produced, about half; an equivalent of 24,000 tonnes are less than 15 microns thickness and, primarily, used for carrying consumer products. They are hard to recycle and, therefore, responsible for most plastic pollution in the country. Nairobi consumes about 211,000 tonnes per year, meaning that the consumption rate is higher than the actual production capacity. This, partly, explains the high rate of plastic imports. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, even the 30-microns thickness in plastic bags is still not environmentally friendly, as they cannot be recycled, but can only be re-used. The application of this ban is just in the interim. Kenya, as a country, still needs a serious ban on the use of plastic bags and possible introduction of materials for packaging. I am happy that some of the retail outlets have adopted this and started implementing the use of environment-friendly bags. This effort should be commended and supported, for replication in the whole country. For purposes of enforcement of this ban, I have directed local authorities to use samples of plastic materials, while enforcing this by-law. Their technical departments should also purchase digital micrometers to ascertain the thickness of the plastic bags. I expect the local authorities to implement a vigorous awareness campaign, for the purpose of information and compliance. In the meantime, I have directed the NCC to go slow on the enforcement of the same. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am aware that Section 3(2) of the Finance Bill, 2007, has also imposed a ban on the manufacture of plastic bags of less than 30 microns, whose implementation comes into effect on 1st January, 2008. Local authorities are mandated to make by-laws as deemed fit for their operations. It is in this respect that the NCC has enacted this by-law."
}