Sakaja: We will launch a crackdown on banned plastic bags

Nairobi County government in collaboration with the National Environment and Management Authority (NEMA), will soon launch a crackdown on traders still using the banned single use plastic bags. Speaking during the Labour Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said that despite the ban plastic bags are still found and used in markets resulting to a number of environmental issues. The use of plastic bags he said has led to poor drainage in the city. “Our roads have been flooded because a lot of illegal dumping has been going on in the city. So our team in going round the county top sort out that issue of drainage but we have agreed, with the director general of NEMA Nairobi is the environmental capital of the world,” Johnson Sakaja said. “We host UNEP, paper bags that are plastic and bottles had been banned but they have come back. In a week we are going to go into another operation to make sure that plastic paper bags that had been banned because they are the ones clogging our drainage, are no longer in our market because we must keep our city clean,” he said. Sakaja also said that a total of 3,500 youths will be hired by the county government to help in cleaning of the city. “Tunaandika Vijana 3,500 ambao watakuja kusaidia kufagia Nairobi na kusafisha, because the people who have been doing the work are those hired since when were small children,” Sakaja said. NEMA banned the use of plastic bags in 2017. According to a gazette notice anyone found guilty shall be liable to a fine of not less than Sh2 million and not more than Sh4 million, or imprisonment of a term of not less than one year but not more than four years or to both. But despite this, traders continue to use plastic bags to package their wares. In January 2023, NEMA said that it will no longer issue warnings and will go ahead to prosecute the offenders. Also read: Sakaja: We will launch a crackdown on banned plastic bags