According to the African Development Bank(AfDB), 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide each year, much of which is plastic waste that pollutes the oceans, more than 100,000 marine animals die each year from plastics and 83% of tap water contains plastic particles. In 2018, the United Nations World Environment Day aimed to raise awareness of the fight against plastic pollution around the world. African countries have mobilised by adopting different strategies to contain plastic pollution at the national level.
There are four countries leading against plastic pollution.
South Africa
South Africa adopted in 2003 the “Regulations under section 24 (d) of the environment conservation act (Act No. 73 of 1989) – Plastic carrier bags and plastic flat bags”, legislation prohibiting plastic bags less than 30 micrometer thick and imposing a tax on thicker bags. Although this new law allows retailers to sell plastic bags, but not to distribute the bags for free, fines are provided for failure to comply with the requirements laid down by law and up to ten years’ imprisonment:”(1) Any person who contravenes regulation 2 shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction- (a) to a fine or (b) to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years or (c) to both such a fine and such imprisonment; and (d) to a fine not exceeding three times the commercial value of anything in respect of which the offence was committed”.
Article 2 sets out the prohibition in the following terms: “The manufacture, trade and commercial distribution of domestically produced and imported plastic carrier bags and plastic flat bags, for use within the Republic of South Africa, other than those which comply with paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Compulsory Specification, is hereby prohibited”.
Kenya
In May 2014, the City of Nairobi adopted a regulatory act, The Nairobi city county plastic carry bags control bill, aimed at controlling the use of plastic bags. With two unsuccessful attempts in 2007 and 2011, the Kenyan government has tried to implement plastic reform and on February 28, 2017 (Notice of publication in Gazette No. 2356), the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources Cabinet, Judi W. Wakhungu, announced a ban on the use, manufacture and import of all plastic bags used for commercial and domestic packaging purposes. The ban has applied to two categories of bags: on the one hand, the transport bag, a “bag made with handles and with or without gussets”, and on the other hand, the flat bag, a “bag made without handles and with or without gussets”.
The punishment for breaking the law, Kenya has introduced a prison sentence of up to four years or a fine of up to USD 40,000 for offenders.
Senegal
Act No. 2015-09 of May 4, 2015 prohibits the production, import, holding, distribution, use of thin plastic bags and the rational management of plastic waste in addition to the possession and use of plastic bags with a thickness of 30 microns or more.
Article 6 of this legislation states that operators in the plastics sector are required to offer households and other users a system for collecting or taking back plastic waste for recovery, recycling or disposal (Article 6).
For any breach of this legislation, offenders may be liable to imprisonment with fines such as punishable by a fine of 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 CFA francs and imprisonment from three months to six months or only one of these two penalties. The importation into the national territory of plastic bags with a thickness of less than 30 microns is a customs offense established, prosecuted and punished in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Code. The use, possession for the purpose of offering for sale, offering for sale and selling or distributing free of charge plastic bags of a thickness of less than 30 microns shall be punishable by a fine of 20,000 to 50,000 CFA francs. A fine of 10,000 to 30,000 CFA francs shall be imposed on anyone who abandons or throws plastic waste elsewhere than at the collection or return points provided for that purpose.
Tanzania
Tanzania has adopted plastic legislation published under Government Notice No. 394 of May 17, 2019 to prevent the import, export, manufacture, sale, storage, supply and use of plastic bags, regardless of their thickness (article 4). This legislation also prohibits the sale or offer for sale of goods packaged in plastic unless the nature of the goods requires plastic packaging (Article 6) and this regulation entered into force in mainland Tanzania on June 1, 2019. Furthermore, no competent authority may register or issue a license or permit to any person who intends to import, export, manufacture or sell plastic bags must register to obtain a license or permit (section 7).
This legislation imposes penalties on individuals and institutions in violation of this legislation, with punishments ranging from the manufacture or importation of prohibited plastic bags and plastic packaging may result in fines of up to one billion shillings or imprisonment for up to two years, or both (article 8 (a)) to possession and use may result in fines of up to 200,000 shillings or imprisonment for up to seven days, or both (article 8 (e)).
Rwanda
The Rwandan government launched the “plastic reform in Africa” movement by banning plastic bags in 2008 and succeeded in creating the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA), which has launched a major information campaign.
The introduction of Law No. 57/2008 of 10 September 2008 on the prohibition of the manufacture, import, use and sale of polyethylene bags in Rwanda was a major step leading Kigali to be recognized as one of the 10 cleanest cities in a UN ranking. Article 2 of this law defines plastic bags as “a synthetic material of low density, composed of several simple chemical molecules called ethylene of chemical formula CH2=CH2”. Article 3 of the Act states that “the manufacture, use, import and marketing of plastic bags are prohibited in Rwanda”. Article 6 provides “the institutions authorized to exercise control over the use of plastic bags are the judicial police, customs officers, staff of the Rwandan Environmental Protection Office, staff of the Rwandan Standardisation Office, national security bodies, local authorities and other necessary personnel designated by order of the Minister having Justice in his attributions”.
The illegal use of plastic bags can result in fines or imprisonment, and such penalties are punishable by imprisonment for 6 to 12 months and a fine of 100,000 Rwandan francs to 500,000 Rwandan francs or only one of these two penalties. Any unauthorised person selling plastic bags is punished by a fine of 10,000 to 300,000 Rwandan francs. Any unauthorised person using plastic bags is punished by a fine of 5,000 to 100,000 Rwandan francs and their bags are confiscated.
The example of plastic legislation in Rwanda has been followed in East Africa, where the parliament of the Economic Community of East African States has enacted a law prohibiting the use and import of plastic bags within the member countries of the community.
In conclusion
Some 20 African States such as Angola, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Liberia, Libya, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe are lagging behind, as they only regulate the disposal of plastics at the national level through the legal regime for solid and household waste. Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Southern Sudan, and Sudan do not have a national law on the management of solid waste found. In Ghana, there is a law on hazardous and electronic waste that covers the recycling of environmentally dangerous waste.
