Plastic cement bag ban critical to development of Blue Economy
A photo showing plastic waste floating off the coast of Roatan, Honduras on September 7, 2017. PHOTO | CAROLINE POWER | AFP
What you need to know:
- An estimated 99 per cent of seabirds would have ingested plastic by mid-century, the UNEP says on its website.
- The world produces over 300 million tonnes of plastic yearly and most of it isn’t recycled.
- China accounts for 25 per cent of the global output, the rest of Asia 21 per cent, Europe 23 per cent and North America 19 per cent.
The World Oceans Day was marked last week with a grim reminder that the war on plastics is far from over.
More than eight million tonnes of plastic enter the seas each year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), choking marine life and threatening human survival. An estimated 99 per cent of seabirds would have ingested plastic by mid-century, the UNEP says on its website.
The alarming sickness of the seas should rally the most powerful world leaders to more avidly control the production and use of plastics in their territories.
At the G7 summit in Canada last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta urged the leaders to lead in controlling plastics and saving marine life — whose existence is at risk from plastics washed away from dumpsites to the oceans.
TOXIC WASTE
The President’s message is clear: The largest producers and consumers of plastics should invest more in removing the toxic plastic waste from the global marketplace and cleaning up the seas. The most powerful nations should lead from the front to save the world from being suffocated to early ruin.
The world produces over 300 million tonnes of plastic yearly and most of it isn’t recycled. China accounts for 25 per cent of the global output, the rest of Asia 21 per cent, Europe 23 per cent and North America 19 per cent. The Middle East, Africa and Central and South Africa are small producers, contributing just 12 per cent combined.
For Kenya, the greatest challenge is to fight plastics with passion to free space for sustainable development of the Blue Economy.
Developing marine resources holds great potential for expanding output, diversifying the economy and creating jobs, particularly at the Coast.
BLUE ECONOMY
Emerging investment opportunities in the Blue Economy would strengthen food security and new manufacturing activities, supporting the President’s ‘Big Four’ agenda for economic transformation.
The war involves clamping down on plastic suppliers and users, replacing them with producers of environmentally friendly paper and other non-plastic products.
Used cement bags
The ban on plastic carrier bags last August reduced one of the greatest threats to Kenya’s Green and Blue economies. Production of plastics fell by 21.8 per cent last year, shows the ‘Economic Survey 2018’ by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
It was striking how quickly the market converted and shoppers changed their attitude to embrace the wide choice of alternative bio-degradable and reusable carrier bags.
The other major threat comes from used cement bags that are washed through the rivers to the Indian Ocean and the inland lakes.
Kenya produces over six million tonnes of cement a year, according to the KNBS. Most of the cement for retail sales is packaged in non-degradable woven polypropylene bags.
POTENTIAL THREAT
Since cement is packed in 50 kilogramme bags, the potential threat to the environment is over 120 million used bags discarded and washed away from domestic and commercial construction sites. A few million more bags are imported; hence, over 150 million bags littering the country annually.
The government should firmly restrict the use of such bags and encourage cement producers to use biodegradable ones.
It should support manufacturers of eco-friendly bags to scale up their production to fill the gaps created by the plastic ban. Plastic manufacturers should be encouraged to convert their production processes.
STRATEGIC OPTIONS
Developing strategic options for manufacturers and consumers would deepen Kenya’s resolve to tame the plastic menace and create eco-friendly opportunities for growth. Kenya should also demonstrate its leadership in mobilising other African countries to support the global war on plastics.
The proposed Blue Economy summit in November would present a great opportunity for Kenya to showcase its progress in reducing plastics.
It should also focus on practical solutions for reducing the economy’s dependence on toxic industries and expanding opportunities for cleaner production.
Mr Warutere is a director of Mashariki Communications Ltd. [email protected]
