- Porous borders remain a challenge, according to Nema director-general Mamo Mamo.
- He said Nema does not have proper support from counties to enforce the law.
The implementation of the ban on single-use plastic carrier bags has succeeded, the National Environment Management Authority has said.
However, porous borders remain a challenge, according to Nema director-general Mamo Mamo.
The influx of banned plastics into the country has forced the government back to the drawing board. Countries of concern include Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan.
Rwanda became the first county to ban plastics in 2008 while Burundi followed in 2018. Tanzania banned single-use plastics last year.
However, some countries still use plastic bags despite the introduction of the East African Community Polythene Materials Control Bill, 2016.
In Uganda, the use of plastics is still allowed even after President Yoweri Museveni signed into law the National Environment Management Bill.
Previous attempts to ban plastics in Kenya had flopped. In 2007, the government issued a ban on bags below 0.3mm in thickness. The ban failed.
In January 2011, Nema declared a ban on bags below 0.6mm in thickness, without success.
In August 2017, Kenya took decisive action to remove the ugly stain of plastics on its outstanding natural beauty by banning single-use plastic bags.
Carrier bags with handles, with or without gussets, or flat bags without handles and with or without gussets are not allowed in the Kenyan market.
Being found with plastics draws a fine of Sh2 million-Sh4 million or a jail term of between one and two years, or both.
Mamo said the porous borders are allowing unscrupulous business people to sneak in plastics from countries that have not banned their use.
"Nema needs improved capacity for the staff to go up to subcounty level. We have a few officers at the county level. We have two to three officers per county," Mamo said.
Mamo said they do not have proper support from counties to enforce the law.
The director-general said many counties are still grappling with how to manage solid waste.
Kenya would again ban single-use plastics in beaches, national parks, forests and conservation areas, receiving accolades from far and wide.
President Uhuru Kenyatta made the announcement when he addressed the opening plenary of the Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in June. The ban took effect on June 5, 2020.
"Kenya is hosting the global environment programme and has remained a campaigner for a sustainable environment. In light of this commitment, two years ago we banned the use, manufacture and sale of environmentally harmful plastics, polythene bags and packaging materials," the President said.
Uhuru said a sustainable environment is a guarantee to a healthy, better and productive society.
This means plastic bottles, straws and related products are not allowed in protected areas such as national parks, beaches, forests and conservation areas.
According to Unep's 2018 report, the production of plastics has outpaced that of every other material.
According to the UN, the rate at which plastics are being dumped is worrying.
By 2050, it says, oceans will carry more plastic than fish and an estimated 99 per cent of seabirds will have ingested plastic.
A study that was supported by Nema in 2018 found that more than 50 per cent of cattle near urban areas were found to have plastic bags in their stomachs.
Much of the plastic produced is designed to be thrown away after a single use.
Plastics were introduced in Kenya in the 1960s as a simple solution for packaging.
Some 100 million plastic bags were being handed out every year in Kenya by supermarkets alone.
The plastics have long been identified as a major cause of environmental damage and health problems. They kill birds, fish and other animals that mistake them for food, damage agricultural land, pollute tourist sites and provide breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue fever.
Edited by Henry Makori