EAC moves to control use of polythene materials - In a move aimed at protecting the environment, the East African Legislative Assembly on Friday passed a bill seeking to prohibit the manufacture, sale, importation and use of polythene materials in member countries of the East African Community (EAC).

The EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill, 2011, will become an Act of the Community after being assented to by heads of state of the five-nation bloc.

Members of the Assembly’s Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources held public meetings with various stakeholders in the partner states in order to create awareness about the ill effects of plastics and polythene materials, notably soil degradation and harmful emission of toxics that endanger human and animal lives when the materials are burnt.

“There are challenges with respect to disposal of such wastes owing to the absence of recycling facilities,” the Committee’s chairperson, Safina Kwekwe, told the ongoing session of the House in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

In its report, the Committee observed that Rwanda, which already has a similar law in place, supported the Bill while requesting for inclusion of a clause on alternatives to polythene materials.

Uganda enacted a law for the control of polythene materials in 2009 but it was yet to be fully implemented.

Meanwhile, stakeholders in Kenya were of the view that while polythene materials were an environmental menace, a balance needs to be struck between eradicating them on the one side and the promotion and protection of investments on the other. 

They also suggested adjustment to specifications of polythene materials other than a total ban and the introduction of a levy to allow the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to manage the waste.

According to the same report, Tanzania and Burundi also supported the Bill, but on the understanding that only plastic bags should be banned and not all polythene materials.

“Polythene waste is a major hindrance in urban and rural areas and attempts to ensure solid waste management is thus essential and welcome. The envisaged law shall control pollution and save both flora and fauna,” said Kenyan Assistant Minister for EAC, Peter Munya, who called for collective action by partner states to ban the use of plastics in the region.

Pana 04/02/2012