Kenya introduces punitive excise duty on plastics

Nairobi - All plastics in Kenya will now attract a 120% excise duty. During his budget speech last week Thursday, Kenya Finance Minister Amos Kimunya said the introduction of the punitive 120% excise duty on plastic bags is aimed at protecting the environment from further degradation.

The minister also proposed to impose a ban on very thin plastic bags as part of strategic measures expected to encourage industry players to devise environmentally friendlier bags for shoppers.

Following the announcement, a leading Kenyan supermarket chain has announced plans to launch a reusable carrier bag. The new carrier will be available in all Nakumatt supermarkets outlets as part of a strategy to cutback on plastic packaging. According to Thiagarajan Ramamurthy, the chain's operations director, the new durable and reusable bags will be available to shoppers free but will thereafter be replaced at a nominal fee when worn out.

The chain currently uses more than 50 million degradable plastic bags for packaging purposes following the successful shift from non-biodegradable plastic bags in 2005. The introduction of the new bags is part of a strategic initiative by the chain to systematically shift shoppers to opting for re-usable bags, rather than the conventional plastic bags.

“Our corporate obligations commit us to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner and the introduction of these reusable bags is a deliberate attempt to significantly cut on plastic packaging,” Ramamurthy said.

The introduction of reusable bags in Kenya comes fresh from the pioneering launch of a similar bag at Sainsbury's in the United Kingdom in April, and subsequently by Marks & Spencer.

Borrowing from statistics from the United Kingdom, it is estimated that the UK uses more than 13 billion carrier bags annually, which can take up to 500 years to break down if conventionally disposed off.

However, UK retailers have pledged to cut the use of plastic bags by more than a quarter of the current volume by the end of next year - the equivalent of 3.25 billion bags.

The resulting drop in carbon emissions linked to the manufacturing and disposal of the bags is equivalent to taking 18,000 cars off the road.