OPINION: Plastic bags ban- Small pain for mega gain

May 13, 2019 will go down in memory as the day the world changed in a way unlike us humans have ever seen before. For the first time in over 3 million years, the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere reached the catastrophic levels of 415 parts per million (as per Olivia Rosane of EcoWatch). This means that Homo sapiens have never seen or lived in a world with CO2 that high. The last time such levels were found on Earth was 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago when the temperature was three to four degrees warmer and our oceans were 20 metres higher. And perhaps the most worrying state of all is that, without humans involvement, the current CO2 rate would be at around 280ppm. That’s 135ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere that’s just us. We need to do something now.

On June 1, Tanzania is going to be doing exactly that. It will be looking to join the 127 nations of the world that have banned or tax plastic bags, by completely banning the bags. With a Sh20 million fine for importing and/or exporting plastic bags, Sh10 million fine for production, storage and distribution, Sh100,000 fine for selling a plastic bag, and a Sh30,000 penalty for anyone seen carrying or using a plastic bag, this ban is no joke.

Why a ban is essential

Let’s break down why a plastic bag ban is essential. Firstly, the ecological cost of plastic bags is staggering. Most of the plastic bags that are disposed of end up in the ocean not only polluting the water but also turning into a meal for marine creatures, a meal that kills them. Apart from ingestion, plastic bags also choke animals which leads to their death. Secondly, plastic bags are manufactured using greenhouse gases, which are the biggest cause of climate change. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere that is supposed to leave the Earth which causes the warming we are going through currently. Thirdly, plastic bags are made using a variety of chemicals that eventually leak out into the soil and water around us. This is damaging not only to the animals we share our world with, but also to ourselves. Finally, these plastic bags take anywhere between 500 and 1,000 years to biodegrade. This means that, for the next 40 to 50 generations, our descendants will be seeing the same plastic bags that we are using today!

By taking a look at a neighbouring country to see how they are faring with their plastic bags ban, perhaps we can garner some information on the effect it will have in Tanzania. Kenya recently enacted the world’s most punitive plastic bags ban, with offenders sentenced to a $38,000 fine or four years in jail.

However, initially, the government failed to consider what alternatives to plastic bags would be used by the public. Also, the economy took a hit with some claims stating that over 60,000 jobs were lost in Kenya’s plastics industry. Today, things are looking better for the nation’s environment. “Our streets are generally cleaner, which has brought with it a general ‘feel-good’ factor,” said David Ong’are, the enforcement director of the National Environment Management Authority in Kenya. “You no longer see carrier bags flying around when its windy. Waterways are less obstructed. Fishermen on the coast and Lake Victoria are seeing plastic bags entangled in their nets.” He also mentions that three out of ten animals taken to slaughter would have plastics in their guts, but now the number is down to 1-in-10. However, the Kenyan government believes that this ban is only a start, and that more regulations are needed to truly make a lasting difference.

Back in Tanzania, the government is preparing for the upcoming ban by allocating dumping areas for trashed plastic bags, and by providing alternates to single-use plastic bags. National Environmental Management Council Director General Samuel Gwamaka said “at the moment, we have 25 local industries producing paper bags, and other industries producing other types of alternative bags. Production of such bags is expected to increase in the very near future.” So, whilst there will be a teething period when we all have to get used to the new reality we live in, and there will be struggles along the way, things will soon look positive. With appropriate alternatives in place, and more to be produced, we will slowly but surely join the wave of green-positive movements across the world. As long as there is a good amount of planning and engagement which come along with these bans and laws, then I can only see positives coming out of the situation.

As a Tanzanian myself, I urge all of us to realize that whilst banning plastic bags is great for the environment, it is simply a start and nothing more. I am currently studying Environmental Science in Toronto, Canada, and the most important information that I come upon day in day out, is that there is still so much more that needs to happen to correct what we’ve done to the planet. This will take decades to fix; but we need effective action now.

Renewable energy

With renewable energy in the form of hydro, wind, solar and tidal, we can start taking the right steps for Tanzania and the world at large. Additionally, many other items need to by recycled successfully as well, from PET plastic bottles, to straws to food packaging and many other single-use plastics. Something as simple as not eating meat for one day every week has a significant impact on greenhouse gas production. And not just individuals; we need companies and corporations to do the right thing and recycle what they use, to reuse what they don’t use and to offset their carbon footprint.

However, it is up to us, especially the Tanzanian youth, to seek, create and champion initiatives that ensure a healthy and sustainable future for us all.

Everyday, we must make sure that our homes are clean and are taken care of. But, it is also time to realize that Planet Earth this side of heaven is also our home, and it truly needs taking care of, too.