Countries with plastic ban – An insight into the lives there

Plastic, as we all know, is non-biodegradable and thus is a major cause of environmental pollution. As an effort towards reducing environmental pollution, many countries have imposed the plastic ban, i.e. ban on the use of single-use plastics, charge customers for lightweight bags, or generate taxes from the stores that sell them, since the early 21^st century. The Bangladesh government was the first to do so in 2002, imposing a total ban on lightweight plastic bags.

Despite this, there are a lot of countries that are struggling to impose a plastic ban as plastics are cost-efficient, durable, lightweight, and easily accessible. There are no good, affordable, comforting and durable substitutes for plastic bags.

Therefore, in such a scenario, it is very important to understand how the countries that have imposed a plastic ban, function today.

1. Kenya

Tens of millions of plastic bags were handed out in supermarkets every year in Kenya. They polluted the environment and clogged up drainage systems contributing to floods in rainy seasons. So soon, the government made the manufacturing, sale and distribution of plastic carrier bags illegal. Since the plastic ban, the government says 80% of the population has stopped using plastic carrier bags. Although this is encouraging, some of the alternatives have also been found to be environmentally damaging. The ban has largely been considered a success although some types of plastic bags have not disappeared entirely. While supermarkets and many shops are no longer handing out carrier bags, small traders have been using a smaller bag made of clear plastic. And there are signs these are being smuggled into the country from neighbouring Uganda and Somalia.

All in all, Kenya achieved mixed success. Litter still collects in abundant amounts on the Kenyan landscape. Still, the country appears in some ways visibly cleaner.

image source: businesstoday.in

2. Rwanda

Rwanda has been free of plastic bags since 2008. The country completely banned plastic bags when other countries around the world started imposing taxes on plastic bags. 45 per cent of citizens in Rwanda live in poverty. And Rwanda was emerging from one of the worst genocides in history – 800,000 people were killed within several months. It committed to banning plastic bags after having trouble with the cost of recycling the bags and seeing Rwandans resort to burning plastic bags, which releases toxic pollutants into the air.

The nation’s zero-tolerance policy toward plastic bags appears to be paying off: Streets in the capital, Kigali, and elsewhere across this hilly, densely populated country are virtually spotless. Men and women are regularly seen on the sides of roads sweeping up rubbish, and citizens are required once a month to partake in a giant neighbourhood cleaning effort, including the president. Imports generally have their plastic packaging removed at customs, officials say, unless doing so would damage the goods. In that case, stores are required to remove the packaging before handing the merchandise to customers. Food wrapped in cellophane is allowed only in hotels, and only if it does not leave the premises. Biodegradable bags are allowed only for frozen meat and fish, not for other items like fruit and vegetables because such bags still take as long as 24 months to decompose, the government says. Potato chips and other foods packed in plastic are allowed only if the companies making them are approved by the government — after showing a detailed business plan that includes how they plan to collect and recycle their bags.

3. Morocco

According to the Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Moroccan households consume about 25 billion plastic bags a year (2016). After use, the plastic waste ends up dumped in the countryside as the country lacks a waste management system for recovery and recycling. Since 2016, a campaign called Zero Mika in Morocco, prohibited the production, import, export, marketing, use, and even free distribution of plastic bags. The ban applied only to single-use bags known as “suspenders” usually given to customers at local markets or grocery stores. Plastic bags intended for industrial or agricultural use as well as freezer bags, garbage bags, and other categories remain authorized. The new law did not specify any alternatives for consumers.

Marjane, Acima, Carrefour, and Bim, Morocco’s major supermarkets started offering ‘legal’ plastic bags at the cashier’s desk as soon as the law came into force. In order to avoid paying, those who plan their shopping adventures ahead now bring their own bags or use supermarket bags they have previously bought. Unlike the supermarket giants, grocery shops and small businesses gradually adapted to the ban. Not having any clear alternatives, shopkeepers feared supermarket competition. While some offered reusable shopping bags, others favoured paper bags. The Ministry of Industry soon affirmed its willingness to help investors and production units to look into the production of alternative solutions. For manufacturers in the formal sector, the Moroccan government implemented a conversion plan aimed to support companies to start manufacturing non-polluting packaging products. Under this plan, the non-woven polypropylene bags offered as an alternative to plastic bags, are too non-biodegradable. In reality, even today, Moroccans rarely use such alternatives, leave alone reusing them, due to their high price, low awareness about the seriousness of the cause, and the low practicability of these alternatives.

4. France

In 2016 France banned the use of plastic bags followed by the banning of plastic cups and plates. Now, the country’s ban on plastic is expanding towards single-user items such as straws and utensils that contain plastics. The only disposable items that are allowed must be made from at least 50% biodegradable materials. The only bags permitted by the new law are “bio-sourced” bags, which are made of a blend of plastic and corn-starch or potato starch. If composted by consumers, these bags will decompose in water and in CO2. The cost of the ban has been estimated at €300 million leading to customers paying more with a rise in the price of groceries. The cost of a bio-sourced bag is a few cents, compared to half a cent for a plastic bag. But most French consumers have had time to get used to the change, as large retailers over the past ten years have significantly lowered the number of bags distributed free at cashiers. Many stores have begun charging for bags or offering reusable bags instead. Across the country, start-ups are now capitalising on the opportunity to fill this niche with a whole range of bio-plastics. These include plastic produced from seaweed and algae, sugarcane and even milk – designed to try and replace harmful oil-based plastics.

5. Bangladesh

Bangladesh was the first country to ban plastic bags and over a decade later many developed countries are still struggling to emulate this success. Bangladesh has an annual rainfall of up to 5 meters and holds the world record for the highest rainfall in a single day. Drainage systems blocked by plastic bags have been identified as a major cause of flooding in Bangladesh during monsoon season. Following the 1998 flood, it was estimated that up to 80% of the waterlogging in the city was caused by polyethylene blocking drains. In Bangladesh, if it is proven that any kind of plastic bags or products made of polyethylene or polypropylene is detrimental for the environment then the government could control/ban the use of these products to any selected area or all over the country.

However, Bangladesh is still struggling with the issue of plastic bags and enforcing the ban. The Bangladesh government runs a number of mobile courts, which a few times per year set up at markets to target those breaking the ban by using plastic shopping bags. However, enforcement has been lacking and only a small number of fines have been enforced since 2006. There are many alternatives to polythene bags but shopkeepers often give the sold items in polythene bags as customers prefer it. Thus, they are still widely used – ignoring the ban. They are thrown anywhere and everywhere, especially the cheap, thin bags in which almost every item of vegetables, groceries and other household goods are packed. The thicker ones are more durable, so they are reused more often. But they are also more expensive, so most shopkeepers do not use them. Despite desperate efforts, the authorities have failed to clean the sewers, and more importantly, to make people responsible about using and disposing of plastic bags. From time to time, there have been government efforts to popularise organic packaging materials such as jute and cotton, but in vain.

6. Zimbabwe

In July 2017, Zimbabwe banned the use of polystyrene – mostly used in food containers. A year later, the country also banned single-use plastic bags. Most locals interviewed after a failed 2010 bag ban decried the law as ludicrous, said it had been brought on without warning and was a sign of the government offloading its waste management responsibilities onto consumers. Depending on the environmental agency or to business groups, immediate price hikes have fallen somewhere between one and 10 per cent. But the EMA is also advising vendors to encourage customers to sit in to eat, thereby avoiding packaging and any additional expense. It is all part of a wider campaign to fight litter. The apparent speed at which the ban had been implemented met with some negative reactions. The EMA had initially ordered an immediate prohibition on kaylite, but following an outcry in the food and packaging sectors, agreed to grant a three-month reprieve to allow businesses to switch to more eco-friendly containers. The requirement forced retailers to use alternatives such as paper wrappers, khaki wrappers, cardboard box and fibre containers which had a small knock-on effect on the price of foodstuffs.

Summing Up:

Plenty of governments are banning more and more plastic every year. On July 20th Panama became the latest to ban single-use plastic bags (Tanzania, Taiwan and New Zealand recently implemented their own bans). Other countries like China, Albania, Uganda, and South Korea also have imposed a selective plastic ban. But it is being seen that bans implemented solely, are not effective till they are imposed with careful thinking about the alternatives to be put in place, the impact of the same on the economy, manufacturers, and consumers etc. Africa is leading the way in achieving success in eliminating plastic waste to some extent. As plastic is cheap as compared to its eco-friendly alternatives as well as an integral element of most of the commodities that we use, the focus is being shifted to prioritise its recycling and management. To tackle the problems that most countries face today relating to waste generation, it is necessary that bans if imposed, are coupled with other measures that facilitate the adaptation of a lifestyle with minimal usage of plastic and create awareness about the need for it.

i. cover image source: United Nations Environment Programme | Jacob Turcotte/Staff

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