NO MORE PLASTIC BAGS

Many countries including South Africa, Ireland, Taiwan banned use of plastic bags. There is a five-pence charge for plastic bags in Scotland and in England. Germany, Ireland, and Spain have taxes on plastic bags, and in China, thin plastic bags are outlawed. Shops are only allowed to give durable plastic bags in China and people are encouraged to use cloth bags and shopping baskets instead.

In 2001, use of plastic bags was banned in Bangladesh. The city had serious floods as a result of plastic bags blocking storm drains in 1988 and 1998. As a result of that, the city decided to ban the use of plastic bags.

One of the countries, which have more serious environmental policies, is Kenya. Kenya banned the use of plastic bags. The law, which went into effect two years ago states that anyone who imports, manufactures, sells, or uses the bags will face penalties. The law was made to reduce the use of plastic in Kenya. According to the United Nations about 100 million plastic bags were handed out every year by supermarkets. Streets of Kenya were littered by the thin plastic shopping bags and also they caused drains to be clogged. This means that the rainwater was captured and held on streets. It also provided a breeding ground for mosquitoes. That threatens the human health as mosquitoes may spread life-threatening diseases like malaria. These plastic bags also kill birds, fish, and other animals that mistake them for food.

The law had an effect. On the first day of the ban, many shops were still giving away plastic bags, but most supermarket chains stopped giving out the bags and were selling cloth bags instead. On the other hand, some smaller businesses complain that the ban had negative effects on their sales. A grocery kiosk owner said that he had lost customers because of the law. “The ban pains me a lot because a customer wants to purchase vegetables, but he doesn’t have a bag and I can’t give him one, so he leaves my kiosk without buying,” he said. “The government has to bring back the plastic bags. My livelihood depends on it.”

Whether they like it or not, people living in Kenya have been using cloth bags or shopping basket for the last two years. Government officials say “our country consumed a huge amount of plastic shopping bags in the past and it will probably take a few years more for people to get used to not having plastic bags.” They have also added that they can already see the positive effects of the new ban on the environment.