Browsing: Plastic ban

Plastic Waste Exports

A new report has found that toxic chemicals in plastic waste exports from wealthy countries are contaminating food in developing and transition countries around the world, including Africa.

The study by the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) found that most of the plastic waste exported from wealthy countries to countries with developing economies or economies in transition is landfilled, burned, or dumped into waterways.

According to the report, all plastics virtually contain hazardous chemical additives.

The report states that these disposal methods result in highly toxic emissions that remain in the environment for decades and build up in the food chain.

Dubbed ‘Plastic Waste Poisoning Food and Threatening Communities in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America’, the study demonstrates how these plastic waste handling methods end up poisoning local populations.

For this study, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in fourteen countries which in many cases receive plastic waste from …

Plastic bag ban
Greenpeace Africa has handed over a petition to Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development Betty Maina seeking to halt the Kenya-US Plastic Deal.

Greenpeace Africa handed over a petition calling for her to take a stand against advocacy from lobbyists from the American Chemistry Council to make Africa a dumping site.

“We are here to represent the voices of more than 20,000 people who are concerned about the future of our country and continent at large. We want to send a clear message that we will not allow any lobbyists or the plastic industry to derail us from the progress we have made in the continent. Kenya cannot be coerced into lowering its environmental standards by corporations who put profits before people and the environment,” said Fredrick Njehu, Greenpeace Africa Senior Political Advisor.

Many voices have come together to place this injustice on the agenda. Recently 62

Plastic bag ban

On June 1, 2019, Tanzania ushered in a new way, for domestic packaging without plastic bags.

Plastic Manufacturing Association of Tanzania (PMAT) stated that the government would lose more than 50 billion TZS, in terms of annual tax, including corporate tax, excise duty, and city service duty, that they paid.

Now, the Tanzanian packaging market is game, as cheaper and durable packaging solutions are yet to surface within communities’ reach. Local, entrepreneurs artisans and recyclers stand to generate millions in revenue, through making renewable bags that could replace the beloved-plastic bags, which were previously sold at 100 TZS a piece, of which is sold at a slightly higher cost of 300 TZS.
Tanzania Invest data indicates that Tanzania is among the 20 fastest growing economies in the world. The latter, promote the possibility that channeling financial and technical resources into small and medium-sized renewable bag factories might be the …