KENYAN AUTHORITIES IMPOSE £30K FINE FOR CARRYING PLASTIC BAGS
KENYAN AUTHORITIES IMPOSE £30K FINE FOR CARRYING PLASTIC BAGS
KENYAN
authorities have taken the toughest action yet on plastic pollution — slapping
a minimum fine of two million shillings (£15,000) for the “use, manufacture or
import” of carrier bags.
The minimum fine can be replaced with a year behind bars, while
the maximum penalties are fines of four million shillings (about £30,000) or a
four-year prison sentence.
The median annual wage in Kenya is just 80,000 shillings (around
£600).
Nairobi has defended the harsh penalties by pointing to the way
non-biodegradable bags are blocking sewers and choking waterways.
The United Nations environment agency says that animals can be
suffocated or poisoned by the bags.
Environment Minister Judi Wakhungu said manufacturers claiming
the ban would hit jobs were off the mark, saying that the production of
environmentally friendly bags would create jobs.
It follows action against plastic bags in many other countries.
The UN says that eight million tons of plastic is carried into
the oceans every year, and that, if current trends continue, plastic will
outweigh fish in the seas by 2050.
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