The Nakuru County assembly Legal and Justice Committee on Wednesday started discussing a motion that could see the county ban plastic bags.

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The petitioners led by James Wakibia, an activist and environmentalist, interacted with the Legal committee to chat a way forward into dealing with the menace.

On December 1 2015, petitioners presented the motion to the County Assembly clerk Joseph Malinda seeking to have the county control the production and the distribution of the plastic bags.

Wakibia pointed out that the rise in the Lake Nakuru waters could be attributed to the tones of litter, among them, plastics being dumped in the lake.

“At least 20 tones of litter is dumped into the lake annually, which has to interfere with the water levels. Many wild animals, including buffaloes and zebras have been dying after consuming the bags hence it is affecting our wildlife,” he added.

Vincent Tanui , a petitioner, challenged the county to prioritise the health of the residents first.

“We can be able to control diseases such as cholera and dysentery once we ban the bags flow into the county,” he added

Chair of the Committee, Peter Muriu Macharia commended the move, saying plastic bags are to be blamed for the increased cases of cancer in the county.

“We have all been affected especially since it is clogging drainage system leading to not only an unsafe and harmful place to live in, but also causing us to ingest dirt which eventually leads to lifestyle diseases like diabetes,” he added.

Macharia pointed out that the county needs to come up with a strategy in sorting garbage, into renewable and non-renewable.

“We will discuss with the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Environment on the way forward seeking to know how we can carry out the ban on plastics. We need to limit their distribution in the county,” he added.