Lake Nakuru National park. Photo/exploreafrica.com
The plastic bag ban has come as an advantage for Lake Nakuru National Park as it is among top beneficiaries of the government’s ban.About 24 tonnes of plastic from the lake has been collected by Workers at the park from the lake and rangelands last year alone. The waste, which mainly finds its way from Nakuru town and communities living around the park, is known to pollute the grazing grounds.Harun Sang Lake Nakuru National Park Deputy Warden said the plastic waste has given the wildlife sanctuary a bad image. “The litter has been an eyesore and the effects have been both direct and indirect on the wildlife,” said Mr Sang.Sang further noted that the ban on use of plastic bags will reduce the cost incurred by the park in clearing the hinterlands in order to make them safe for wild animals to graze.The park’s one million flamingos have been forced to migrate to other counties, adversely affecting tourism numbers. Thier falling population in the park has been , largely blamed on consumption of plastic waste. The park’s location on the low-end parts of Nakuru has worsened its fate as wind blows from the high altitude Menengai Hills and the populous residential estates that pour their waste into Ndaragu River which flows into the lake.Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu said,“In 2010, Kenya alone generated more than 24 million single-use plastic bags. These bags take between 20 and 1,000 years to bio-degrade and thus have a long presence in the environment,”.Lakes Nakuru, Naivasha, Elementaita and Solai have been heavily polluted by plastic bags leading to the benefit they will gain from the ban.