The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) on Wednesday voiced its opposition to attempts to push for reintroduction of single-use plastics and underscored necessity of cutting plastic pollution.
Karin Boomsma, director of the Sustainable Inclusive Business Kenya that is affiliated with KEPSA Foundation, said that creating a plastic-free environment was non-negotiable given the threats posed by non-biodegradable materials.
“The country, through the ministry of environment, has made major strides to drive a circular economy. We will protect what we have worked for over the years,” said Boomsma in a statement issued in Nairobi.
“The real impact of a circular economy does not lie in trying to recycle end of life plastics. It lies in redesigning the quality of the product that will then define the quality of output that can be reintroduced back into the value chain,” Boomsma added.
According to media reports, some foreign oil industry lobby planned to use Kenya as a launching pad for increased export of plastics to Africa amid dwindling revenues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The proposal by oil companies to use their oversupply of oil to manufacture plastics and dump them in Africa is completely unacceptable,” Landry Ninteretse, the Regional Team Leader for green lobby group 350Africa.org, said in a statement.
Kenya enforced a ban on manufacture, sale and use of single plastics in August 2017 in a bid to protect vital ecosystems and promote human health.
