- Acting director of multilateral agreements with the Ministry of Environment Cyrus Mageria said they are trying to sensitise most of the industries and Kenyans so that they are not caught unaware.
- Mageria said the framework will detail the actions that countries need to take and other mechanisms of providing the alternatives.
The bid to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment is on course.
Acting director of multilateral agreements with the Ministry of Environment Cyrus Mageria said countries are running against time to provide a scientific basis behind the resolution that was unanimously adopted early this year.
Mageria said experts are working to define the scope of plastics to be banned and the legal framework that needs to be reviewed.
“We are trying to internally access our legal framework to see whether there are gaps and what needs to be done,” he said.
Mageria said they are trying to sensitise most of the industries and Kenyans so that they are not caught unaware.
“We have two years and by the end, there will be a legally binding instrument that is going to govern that particular end of plastic so that when it comes into force, we will domesticate that framework,” he said.
Mageria said the framework will detail the actions that countries need to take and other mechanisms of providing the alternatives.
He said United Nations Environment programme does coordination and scope study so that they establish the stockpiles in the environment and what needs to be done to clear them.
He said the ministry is leading in matters of protection of the environment.
Mageria said several agencies such as the National Environment Management Authority is keen on enforcing some of the laws.
“We hope that once the instrument is adopted, Nema will take the lead as far as enforcement is concerned,” he said.
Mageria said they also expect the Kenya Association of Manufacturers to educate the manufacturers that some brands of plastics had been banned.
He said the move will help in phasing out some of the plastics being manufactured locally and those being imported into the country.
Mageria said customs officials will also be involved to check goods coming into the country.
“We will also come up with a globally harmonised labelling system so that across the world all those plastics can be labelled in a system that you only need to key the code and know which kind of plastics they are,” Mageria said.
In February, at the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), a resolution was adopted to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution with the ambition to complete the negotiations by end of 2024.
The instrument will be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic.
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee will consider how to promote sustainable production and consumption of plastics from product design to environmentally sound waste management through resource efficiency and circular economy approaches.
On February 27, 2017, the Environment ministry banned the use of plastic carrier bags through a gazette notice.
The ban came into effect in August of that year.
Possession of plastics attracts a fine of between Sh2 million and Sh4 million, or a jail term of between one and two years, or both.
Before 2017, about 100 million plastic bags were used in Kenyan supermarkets every year, with severe consequences to the environment.
Despite the ban, however, plastic bags are smuggled into the country.
Nema has been facing challenges in Garissa, Mandera, Moyale, Busia, Taita Taveta, Namanga and other border posts.
On June 5, 2019, Kenya also banned single-use plastics on beaches, national parks, forests and conservation areas.
The ban prohibits visitors from carrying single-use plastic water bottles, disposable cups, plates, cutlery and straws into national parks, forests, beaches and conservation areas.
The rapidly increasing levels of plastic pollution represent a serious global environmental issue that negatively impacts the environmental, social, economic and health dimensions of sustainable development.
Experts say without urgent interventions, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could hit 23-37 million tonnes by 2040.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris