Recently, the government announced that it will ban the use of plastic bags by mid this year. It will be the second nation in Africa to ban plastic usage after Rwanda.
In Munyaka, there is an open field where plastic bags have attached themselves on bushes and you would think that they are sort of flowers. These plastics come from households which dump them anyhow.Speaking to one of the 'mama mboga', she said that she supports the move to ban plastics by the government. In this, we will have a clean environment. She said customers will be forced to carry baskets to go and purchase vegetables.Plastics have many disadvantages to the environment. They take long time to decay and present an ugly environment. Moreover, they can be swallowed by cattle hence killing them.
In most cases, fish have been found swept ashore while dead and this has been attributed to swallowing of plastics hence choking them to death.
If the ban comes true, then industries that manufacture plastic bags will have to close down or seek alternative products to manufacture. This also means that jobs will be lost for those working in the industries.
However, benefits of a plastic free environment are many and all Kenyans will have to accept that and seek alternative shopping materials.