Plastic bag ban will benefit the economy despite initial losses

On August 28, plastic bags became illegal in Kenya, marking the third attempt since 2005 by the government to ban polythene bags below 30 microns.

In a country where about 100 million plastic bags are handed out by supermarkets alone, plastic bags have long been identified as the cause of environmental damage and health problems: killing birds, animals and fish that mistake them for food, damaging agricultural land and polluting the environment.

The ban on plastic means that Kenya has joined the ranks of Eritrea, Mauritania, Morocco, Rwanda and Tanzania in mitigating the effects of plastic bag waste.

Globally, countries such as Denmark have had sanctions on plastic bags for the past 24 years, with additional charges being levied on plastic bags, resulting in a 60 per cent drop in their usage.

In 2002, Ireland introduced the bag tax, which ensures that customers have to buy bags, resulting in a 90 per cent drop in their usage.

Overall, the European Union intends to have an 80 per cent reduction in the use of plastic bags by 2019, thereby necessitating the need to rethink the manufacture and use of plastic bags.

It is estimated that plastic bags make up most of the plastic that leak into the ocean every year. Going by current rates, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish, wreaking havoc on marine fisheries, wildlife and tourism by 2050.

Despite the inherent benefits of the plastic bag ban, the local manufacturing sector point at the economic effects of the ban.

According to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, the 170 plastic manufacturers create an estimated 60,000 jobs directly and another 400,000 indirectly.

READ: Plastic bags ban wipes out thousands of jobs

The KAM further estimates that Sh5.26 billion in annual revenues will be wiped out of the economy after the ban came into effect. While a small negative impact will be felt in the short term following the ban, the long-term benefits will cancel out the negative impact.

In order to counter the imminent economic loss due to the ban on plastic bags, the Ministry of Environment could have looked further abroad for various ways and means to effect the ban.

For instance, it could have gone the way of Rwanda and provided tax breaks for plastic bag recycling companies, while opening up a new market for the manufacture of eco-friendly bags.

READ: Nema, manufacturers now form team to resolve plastic ban crisis

Another measure that the ministry could have looked into in its effort to regulate plastic bag use, is making these them expensive by increasing their cost.

This would force the customer to buy the bags, making it harder for them to dispose of it after a single use — encouraging reuse of the bags.

This measure could be complemented by ensuring that retailers partner up with plastic recycling firms and set up collection points for the bags that can no longer be reused.

The regulators should also educate the public to achieve the benefits of the ban.

Over the long term, the plastic bag use will benefit the economy and save taxpayer money that would have gone towards plastic bag cleanup.

We at Retail Trade Association of Kenya support the ban and have agreed with government to implement it to the letter.

Muchiri Wahome is chairman of Retail Trade Association of Kenya and Deacons East Africa CEO.