An environmental lobby group has urged the Kenya government to take advantage of the ongoing Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC 1) conference in Punta del Este, Uruguay to push for a total global ban on plastic use.
The meeting which started on November 28 and ends on December 2 is the first of a series of meetings aimed at reaching a legally binding agreement to stop use of plastics by 2024.
Greenpeace Africa Mobilization Officer Mr Erastus Ooko says Kenya should take advantage of the international meeting to lobby for a plastic-free policy owing to the devastating impacts of plastic menace experienced in the country.
Ooko says from the ongoing drought in Northern Kenya to the ever-worsening pollution levels in the country’s water sources, leaders from the country should take bold steps to ensure any decision arrived at the Punta del Este conference culminates in a total ban on plastic materials.
“Africa is grappling with the impacts of single-use plastics. In many urban areas across the continent, plastic waste is clogging waterways triggering floods and destruction.
As Africa’s population continues to soar and the middle class grows at an unprecedented rate, plastic pollution has become one of the biggest risks facing communities across Africa today.
With over 99 percent of plastic made from fossil fuels, plastic production and its use is a significant driver of the climate crisis,” said Ooko said in a press statement.
“This year alone, we have seen the devastating impacts of the climate crisis; from drought in Northern Kenya to deadly storms in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. This treaty is an opportunity for our leaders to protect our climate and frontline communities from these climate impacts,” he continued.
A 2017 study by the National Environmental Management Agency (NEMA) reports that 24 million plastic bags were used in Kenya every month before a plastic ban came into effect.
Ooko says participants at the meeting have an overarching goal to ensure that the plastic pollution crisis is addressed, in all environments, in ways that align with the waste hierarchy.
This includes prevention at source as well as achieving a circular economy that is safe and protects human health and the climate at large.
Ooko stressed that the treaty must prioritize protecting biodiversity, the climate and the wellbeing of humans while putting the needs of the most vulnerable communities before the industries that are responsible for creating this crisis.
“As world leaders and stakeholders gather for INC 1, we are keen to see the tangible decisions that will address the plastics pollution in the continent and the world at large. We hope the negotiation will prioritise a just transition to more sustainable livelihoods for workers across the plastics supply chain, especially in the informal waste sector and affected communities in low and middle-income countries, stresses the official.
“Greenpeace Africa is demanding a strong global plastic treaty that will keep oil and gas in the ground and bring to an end the age of plastic pollution and the added burden of plastic waste dumping in Africa.
We are calling on governments, corporations, big brands and other stakeholders to join hands to end the plastic pollution in the continent and the world at large,” Ooko concluded.
Single-use plastics are polluting the majority of ecosystems from rainforests to the world’s deepest ocean trench. When consumed by fish and livestock, plastic waste ends up in our food chain.
In 2017, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a ban on the use of single-use plastics in protected areas in the country including national parks, forests and beaches, and the ban became effective on June 5, 2020.
The international meeting comes two years after Kenya banned the use, manufacture and sale of environmentally harmful plastics, polythene bags and packaging materials.
By 2050, the United Nations estimates there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, unless governments and the private sector promote more resource-efficient design, production, use and sound management of plastics throughout their life cycle.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) a total of 300 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, and not all of it is recycled.
Despite this, and the fact that plastic is continuing to be produced each year, the UNEP reports that only nine per cent of all plastic is recycled and just 12 percent is incinerated with the largest chunk finding itself in dumps and landfills.
In August this year, five years after the ban on the manufacture, sale and use of single-use plastic carrier bags Greenpeace Africa had raised fears over the return of single-use plastic bags in most of Kenya’s markets and informal settlements.
According to Hellen Dena the lobby group’s Communication Director commodities such as sugar and bread were still being packed in plastic bags half a decade after the ban.
“It is rather disappointing that half a decade after the ban, single-use plastic bags remain rife in Kenya’s environment, especially now when the world is considering a global plastic treaty; a legally binding instrument to curb plastic pollution from production to disposal. Environmentalists are looking up to countries such as Kenya to lead the way in these negotiations,” said Dena.
“Plastic pollution has been shown to have a disproportionate impact on marginalised communities and the ecosystem that millions depend on for livelihoods. Despite the ban on single-use plastic carrier bags coming into effect 5 years ago, plastic pollution remains a big transboundary and global challenge for Kenyans. Stringent action needs to be taken now to make Kenya plastic-free,” she added.
