Browsing: plastic

Kenya is among some eight countries that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) wants to deepen trade ties with, even as it pushes to grow its status as the Middle East commercial hub.  

According to a report filed by Reuters on September 14th, the Gulf State said it wanted to strengthen trade and economic ties with countries including India, Britain, Turkey, South Korea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Israel and Kenya.  

The Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani Al Zeyoudi told the publication that UAE would pursue bilateral issues that include trade, foreign direct investment and sectors such as tourism.  

In terms of oil, UAE is Kenya’s major supplier of oil. For instance, in 2019, oil imports from the UAE stood at KSh116.9 billion ($1.2M) in 2018 compared to KSh108.6 billion ($1.0M) in the previous year.  That year, however, Saudi Arabia overtook UAE as the leading source of Kenya’s oil imports, …

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 …