2024-03-15 03:00:00
As the world drowns in a tide of plastic waste, countries in Africa, Asia and other continents are trying to ban single-use materials.
In January, Nigeria became the latest African country to tackle the waste crisis by banning single-use plastics.
The Lagos government declared that it would ban Styrofoam packaging and phase out non-recyclable plastics.
On the African continent, at least 34 countries have banned various forms of single-use plastics and packaging, 99% of which are made from fossil fuels, which drive global warming.
Rwanda is a pioneer in these efforts, having banned single-use plastic bags and bottles since 2008.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., the plastic ban is having an impact: In five states and cities in the country alone, bans have reduced bag use by about 6 billion bags per year.
And the European Union has banned a large number of single-use plastics, such as straws and takeout containers.
But experts warn that partially banning plastic is only one step; A gradual reduction is needed to avoid the triple increase in production projected by 2050.
Why do governments resort to plastic bans?
Plastic waste management in Nigeria is almost non-existent, said Temitope O. Sogbanmu, a professor at the University of Lagos.
According to her, single-use plastics clogging streets and sewers cause flooding, which is a “threat” to coastal communities and also litters marine habitats.
Styrofoam used to package food is one of the main culprits. The lack of collection and recycling infrastructure in Lagos made the ban the last option to control the problem.
Hellen Kahaso Dena of Greenpeace Africa’s Pan-African Plastics Project, who campaigns on the health and environmental impacts of plastic pollution on marginalized communities, called the ban “a step in the right direction.”
Consultation, key to the plastic ban
Despite support from environmental advocates, the new ban on Styrofoam in Laos received a lot of criticism.
Food vendors in Lagos markets claim to be harmed and say the state should offer alternatives.
Professor Sogbanmu agrees that biodegradable alternatives “need to be supported or subsidized by the government” to be accessible. She says implementing any plastic ban requires both top-down legislative action and enforcement, as well as strong bottom-up consultation and education, especially among Nigeria’s large youth population.
In the case of Rwanda, “citizen engagement” was key in the effort to “maintain cleanliness, reduce pollution and provide alternatives to plastic to realize the vision,” the United Nations Development Program declared in November 2023. The Rwandan government collaborated with Norwegian colleagues to launch a global treaty to end plastic pollution by 2040.
Weyinmi Okotie, clean energy campaign manager at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Break Free From Plastics Africa, has noted that the availability of Styrofoam in Lagos has decreased significantly since the ban was put in place, due, according to him, from the fear of being arrested. But does this threat always work?
Why some bans fail
Plastic bags were banned in Kenya in 2017, but seven years later they are still present in the country’s markets.
According to Dorothy Otieno, the local plastics industry opposed the ban and moved its operations across the border to Uganda, where there is no ban.
Although both sellers and buyers of plastic bags are threatened with jail terms and a fine of 4 million Kenya shillings (about $28,900 or 26,300 euros), Otieno says their low cost continues to attract lower-income consumers. .
The failure to get communities to adopt plastic bans also illustrates the need to progressively establish a ban on common and cheap packaging, said Temitope O. Sogbanmu.
Sogbanmu explains that 60 million plastic water sachets are consumed and discarded every day in Nigeria, but that a ban would fail if a solution for drinking water was not first implemented.
The same is true in India, where the ban on single-use plastics in 2022 failed due to the lack of affordable alternatives and the influence of the powerful plastics industry.
The global ban on plastics as the definitive solution
Cooperation and integration of plastic bans in Africa is – like in the EU, where a ban on single-use plastics applies to all member states – a potential means of making national bans more effective.
Sogbanmu says the ultimate solution is a global ban on plastics.
An agreement is being negotiated to make this possible. This could reduce global plastic pollution by 80% by 2040.
#plastic #bans #work