Kenya plastic bag ban enforcement and manufacturers' opposition
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Kenya banned the production and use of plastic bags in 2017 over the objection of its manufacturers' association. Reports on enforcement describe arrests of bag users rather than producers.
With more than 300 prosecutions.
Status As of May 2023: NEMA was still reporting arrests under the 2017 ban.
- Bag users arrested in 2023 — Fined 50,000 shillings each (19 in Nairobi). The Star (Kenya)
What happened
In 2017 Kenya banned the production and use of plastic bags. In March 2017 The EastAfrican reported that the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) protested the ban and argued for recycling instead. The paper reported that a 120% tax introduced in 2007 had not markedly reduced bag use.
Kenya's National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) reported more than 500 arrests and more than 300 prosecutions in the two years after the ban.
In May 2023 The Star reported arrests of 34 people linked to banned plastics. In Nairobi in 2023, all 19 people arrested were users of bags, and each was fined 50,000 shillings.
- 2007A 120% tax on plastic bags is introduced; The EastAfrican later reports it did not markedly reduce use
- 2017Kenya bans production and use of plastic bags; the manufacturers' association protests and argues for recycling
- 2019NEMA has reported more than 500 arrests and 300 prosecutions over two years of the ban
- 2023The Star reports 34 arrests linked to banned plastics; in Nairobi all 19 arrested are bag users, fined 50,000 shillings
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Banned production and use of plastic bags in 2017.
The EastAfricanOpposed the ban and argued for recycling.
The EastAfricanReported more than 500 arrests and more than 300 prosecutions in two years; in 2023, all 19 people arrested in Nairobi were users and each was fined 50,000 shillings.
The Star (Kenya)How it looked
Shown
- Argued for recycling in place of the ban.Kenya Association of Manufacturers (as reported by The EastAfrican) · The EastAfrican
Recorded
- NEMA reported more than 500 arrests and more than 300 prosecutions in the first two years of the 2017 ban.
- In 2023 all 19 people arrested in Nairobi were bag users; each was fined 50,000 shillings.
- A 120% tax introduced in 2007 had not markedly reduced bag use (The EastAfrican).
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- nema (2019): Reported more than 500 arrests and more than 300 prosecutions in the two years after the 2017 ban. · The Star (Kenya)
- kam (March 2017): Opposed the ban and argued for recycling instead. · The EastAfrican
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Record
- Not measured The sources reviewed give no measurement of plastic-bag litter before and after the ban.
Did the harm stop?
The sources reviewed do not record whether the ban reduced bag litter.
Who paid?
In the 2023 Nairobi arrests the people fined were bag users.
Sources
Press and investigations
- NEMA arrests 34 linked with banned plasticsThe Star (Kenya) · 2023-05-12
- Manufacturers protest as Kenya bans production, use of plastic bagsThe EastAfrican · 2017-03
Connected cases
- Kenya tribunal cancels licence for Lamu coal plant Kenya · 2019
- National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) (Public authority) — here: Environmental regulator; enforces the ban; there: Issued the environmental licence