Article written by Jim Wright,
Analysis by Joseph Armachie
Discarded plastics including reusable bags found in Uhuru
There are pronounced waste policy differences between the two Water and Waste study countries, Ghana and Kenya. Ghana has a large-scale sachet industry selling water in plastic bags, which supplies most urban households with their main drinking-water source, but generating a plastic waste stream in doing so. Meanwhile, Kenya has banned single-use plastic carrier bags, aiming to replace these with reusable, biodegradable ‘uhuru’ bags. Since 2020, Kenya has also banned single-use plastics such as straws and bottled water from national parks and beaches. As yet, Ghana has not implemented equivalent policies.
To assess how well Kenya’s policies were working on the ground, the Water and Waste team observed and interviewed shoppers at a random selection of food stores in off-grid neighbourhoods of the cities of Greater Accra and Kisumu. Among other observations, the team recorded whether or not people brought their own bags with them when food shopping. There was a very pronounced difference between Greater Accra and Kisumu, just 4% of 489 shoppers brought their own bag in Greater Accra, whereas in Kisumu, 56% of 517 shoppers had brought a reusable bag.
Our team member conducting surveys in shops
Our team member conducting surveys on shoppers
The team also found that women were more likely to bring reusable bags than men, as were those who had travelled a shorter distance to shop. Although this finding suggests that Kenya’s carrier bag ban has successfully reduced plastics generated by carrier bags, there are signs that the ban is not entirely successful. For example, the team found discarded ‘uhuru’ bags were quite widespread when counting scattered litter during transect walks in off-grid neighbourhoods. Similarly, there have been reports of non-biodegradable counterfeit ‘uhuru’ bags being illegally imported and used instead of the approved biodegradable bag designs.
Ghana and Kenya thus provide two somewhat contrasting examples of policies to balance waste management with the needs of growing urban populations. The waste hierarchy prioritises reducing waste generation, then prioritises waste reuse and then recycling thereafter. Ghana’s acceptance of its sachet industry reflects a ‘recycle’ strategy, whilst Kenya’s single-use plastic bans in national parks and of carrier bags reflect a ‘reduce’ strategy. Both policy strategies come with their own distinct challenges and benefits, as Water and Waste is illustrating.