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Africa
wages war on
scourge of
plastic bags
Aug 20 2007
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NAIROBI -
They've become
as much a symbol
of Africa's
landscape as the
stereotypical
lions and
plains.Discarded
plastic bags --
in the billions
-- flutter from
thorn-bushes
across the
continent, and
clog up cities
from Cape Town
to Casablanca.
South Africa was
once producing 7
billion bags a
year; Somaliland
residents became
so used to them
they re-named
them "flowers of
Hargeisa" after
their capital;
and Kenya not so
long ago churned
out about 4,000
tonnes of
polythene bags a
month.
They're an
eyesore across
Africa, but
there are
damaging health
and environment
... too," said
the U.N.
Environment
Programme's (UNEP)
Africa industry
officer Desta
Mebratu.
Produced -- and
then strewn --
en masse in most
countries, the
flimsy bags
block drains and
sewage systems
and can kill
livestock who
nibble and
digest them.
They spread
malaria by
holding
mini-pools of
warm water for
mosquitoes to
breed in. They
choke soil and
plants, and leak
colour additives
into food.
The phenomenon
began in the
late 1990s when
new technology
made production
cheap and easy.
The consequent
throw-away
culture meant
plastic bags
quickly became
an ugly but
integral part of
the African
landscape.
Now UNEP and
other concerned
bodies are
spearheading a
fast-growing
campaign to
contain the
menace.
Their emphasis
is not just on
curbing
production, but
also promoting
re-use of bags,
and recycling of
plastic
waste.
"The plastic
problem is now
on the agenda of
almost every
African
country,"
Mebratu, an
Ethiopian, said
at his office in
a U.N. compound
in Nairobi. "The
major focus is
to promote
rational use and
disposal of
plastic bags."
Rwanda and
Eritrea have
already banned
the bags
outright, the
United Nations
says. "Go to the
airport in
Kigali and if
you have a
plastic bag,
they will
confiscate it,"
Mebratu said.
Somaliland, an
autonomous and
self-declared
independent
region of
Somalia, has
taken a
similarly
draconian
measure.
Larger countries
such as South
Africa, Uganda
and Kenya have
introduced
minimum
thickness rules,
while Ethiopia,
Ghana, Lesotho
and Tanzania are
considering such
measures too.
Some nations are
also slapping
levies on
plastic bag
production to
ensure consumers
re-use rather
than trash them.
Senegal and
Egypt get high
marks for their
recycling
initiatives,
Mebratu said.
"We are very
much encouraged
by what is
happening, but
there is a long
way to go still.
Anyone can see
that."
BINS AND BANANAS
Not
surprisingly,
African
manufacturers do
not believe in
drastic measures
or high taxes on
plastic bags,
but rather a
culture change
among consumers.
Instead of
punishing
producers, they
say, users
should be better
educated on
disposal, re-use
and recycling to
prevent mass
dumping of
plastic bags.
"Manufacturers
want to help
clean the
environment,"
Bimal Kantaria,
a board member
of the Kenya
Association of
Manufacturers,
told Reuters.
"But we want to
do so
effectively and
target the
problem, which
is irresponsible
disposal. We in
the industry
understand there
is a problem
with plastic
bags polluting
the environment.
However an
excise tax is
hard to collect
and easy to
evade."
Kantaria
proposed a
moderate "green
levy tax" on the
imported raw
materials to
raise funds for
a new body
charged with
public awareness
campaigns.
Some
street-sellers
have a simpler
idea.
John Kihui,
chairman of
Kenya's national
hawkers'
association,
said merely
providing more
litter bins
would solve 70
percent of the
problem.
"That is what
has removed
plastic and
other litter
from Nairobi
city centre
where today bins
stand at
strategic places
and people no
longer toss
refuse
carelessly," he
told the local
Standard
newspaper.
"Impact? A
positive
behaviour change
without
necessarily
punishing the
people."
Reuters
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