Africa: clogged by plastic bags, Africa begins banning them

22 Jan 2008, Source Weekly

Several African countries have taken bold new measures to tackle the region’s severe waste-management problems. Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda have passed laws banning or restricting the use of a main culprit: the ordinary plastic grocery bag. Kenya is expected to follow suit.

The bags are more than a nuisance. Blocked sewers help spread disease. Farmers complain that precious livestock are choking to death on plastic bags, ruining their livelihoods, while rubbish-strewn streets and countryside are counter-productive for Kenya’s tourism-based economy.

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