NEMA issues directive banning garbage bags

The National Environment Management Authority (Nema) has implemented a prohibition on the utilization of plastic bags for the collection and disposal of waste.

“In a notice dated April 8, Nema stated that Kenyans have 90 days to discontinue the use of plastic bags from the date of the notice.”

“The utilization of traditional plastic bags/bin liners for the collection of organic waste shall therefore cease immediately,” the notice states.

Nema has decreed that all waste must now be transported in biodegradable garbage bags.

“All organic waste generated by households, private sector and public sector institutions, private and public functions and events; shall strictly be segregated and placed in 100% biodegradable garbage bags/bin liners only,” Nema declared.

This directive is in accordance with Section 12 of the Sustainable Waste Management Act, 2022.

The section specifies that:

(1) All public and private sector entities are required to segregate non-hazardous waste into organic and non-organic fractions,

(2) The segregated waste must be placed in properly labeled and color-coded receptacles, bins, containers, and bags.

(3) All waste service providers are obligated to collect, handle, and transport segregated waste.

This decision comes seven years after the Kenyan government enforced a ban on the manufacture, importation, and use of plastic carrier bags for commercial and household packaging.

The initial ban in 2017 was implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.