b and traders have welcomed the decision by the Environment Ministry to ban the use of plastic bags in the country starting Monday next week.
Talking in Garissa livestock market today the group regretted that the move was ‘ a little too late’ and should have been effected long time ago.
Led by the vice chair of the livestock marketing council Dubat Amey the traders and owners said the move will save them huge loses they have been incurring due to consumption of plastic bags by their animals especially during dry spells.
Amey accused some manufacturers who moved to court to stop the ban saying they were greedy and selfish individuals who have failed to ‘see the bigger picture’.
“Many countries in the world banned the use of plastic bags several years ago and it’s only in Kenya that the use is still being tolerated,” Amey said.
“The government must stand firm and should not bow to pressure to lift the ban. This lame excuse that there will be job loses does not hold water,” he added.
Mahat Hassan, a livestock owner said that animals that consume the plastic bags among them goats, cows, donkeys and camels eventually die due to clogged stomachs.
Hassan said that the plastic bags are an eye sore in the Garissa town and its environs.
“When carried away by the wind, the plastic bags are trapped by the fences, trees and perimeter walls. The water drainage is blocked. They are all over and makes the outskirts of the town look dirty,” Hassan said.
Abdirahaman Aden who is one of the traders at the Garissa livestock market said the plastic bags are breeding grounds for mosquitoes during the rainy season.
Aden said that plastic bags are contributing to spread of water bone diseases during rainy seasons.
“Causes of deaths among animals is mainly due to plastic bags. We laud the government for this move,” he said.
The ministry of environment has stood its ground saying that it is not going to relent on the push to ban plastic bags.
The ministry said it will first act on the manufacturers.
Environment PS Charles Sunkuli outlined specific exemptions to the use of plastic bags which include primary food packaging, waste bin liners, as well as horticultural export bags.
He said the industrial food packaging bags will have to be labeled to show who the manufacturer is.
The PS expressed confidence that the ban will be successful due to what he referred to as widespread support from a segment of Kenyans.