Plastic bag ban outweighs commercial interests – Court

The Kenyan High Court on Friday dismissed manufacturers’ lobby application to suspend ban on plastic bags set to take effect on Monday.
High Court Judge Benard Mweresa Eboso of the Environment and Land Court dismissed the petition by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) stating that the need to conserve the environment outweighed commercial interests.
“The grant of conservatory order in the circumstances of this dispute means that the offensive plastic bags continue to suffocate the environment to the detriment of the Kenyan population, while serving the commercial interests of a section of the plastic .
“The application does not satisfy the criteria for grant of a conservatory order. A conservatory order would severely injure the public interest,” the judge said.
KAM had moved to court demanding temporarily orders to stop the ban.
KAM argued that the that the ban would affect those directly employed by the plastic sector which is over 2.89 percent of Kenyan Employees (approx. 60,000 employees). Indirect employment and dependents through retailers, wholesalers, recyclers, packers and outlets is over 1.2 million personnel
However, KAM said they have never been against the ban but differed on its execution.
“We would like to clarify that as the Association of Manufacturers we have never been against the intent of the ban, which is to clean up our country, towards improving the quality of life for all citizens. We have only differed on the manner of its execution, which did not take into account adequate stakeholder consultation,” said the association in a statement.
The court decision means that from Monday, there will be no bags produced for commercial and household use in the entire industry. “This will negatively affect manufacturing plastic sector economic contribution. The shutdown of many factories will also mean immediate termination of workers with no send-off packages and no alternatives provided,” said KAM.
The case will be mentioned on September 21 for directions of the hearing of the main petition.
In June, The national Assembly Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources backed a petition seeking suspension of the Gazette Notice No. 2356 of 2017 on the ban, use, manufacture and importation of plastic bags, “Did not comply with the statutory Instruments Act, 2013. Even if, the issuance of the Notice had complied with the relevant provisions of the statutory Instruments Act 2013, the timeline of six months given in the Notice for companies to cease operation was unreasonably short.”
Findings from the committee noted that, “The cost value of the plastic manufacturing sector is in excess of Ksh 88 billion and the direct employments created by the plastic sector is over 2.89 percent of the Kenyan employees which is approximately 60,000 personnel nationwide and their annual turnover is over Ksh 100 billion.”
Thus, “The ban imposed by the Cabinet Secretary for Environment does not resolve the problem identified by the experts or create a sustainable approach to addressing the problem.”
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) Waste Management Proposals In 2016-2017 proposes solutions to address polythene waste in line with global best practices.
For instance, they call for the inclusion of provisions to encourage use of bio-degradable products and recycling such as national fiscal incentives such as Green Levy Funds to address plastic waste management; tax incentives to promote manufacture and use of biodegradable packaging products; tax incentives for capital goods for recycling; tax rebates to industries promoting waste management; and imposition of penalties for littering in unlawful places to deter littering.
There is need to remove the existing Excise Duty (120/= Kg on Shopping bags) due to inefficiency to address plastic waste management and replaced with a waste management levy at one percent value of all raw materials which will be collected fund ensuring that employment of opportunities are created and job losses are avoided and revenue is boosted.
Finally, the establishment of “The Waste Management Board Levy”, to be charged on all plastic at source (Point Of Entry) on CIF Value. The funds should be managed through a public private partnership by Government agencies that include, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, National Environmental Management Authority and National Treasury as well as private sector and non-governmental organizations.
The case will be mentioned on September 21 for directions of the hearing of the main petition.
Kenya tried to ban polythene bags twice before, in 2007 and 2011, without success.
About Soko Directory Team
Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system.Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory
Trending Stories
Government and Policy
Developed Countries MUST Ban All African Politicians From Using Their Healthcare And Educational Institutions
Steve Biko Wafula
Related Articles
Explore Soko Directory
Soko Directory Archives
- January 2025 (118)
- February 2025 (90)
- January 2024 (238)
- February 2024 (227)
- March 2024 (190)
- April 2024 (133)
- May 2024 (157)
- June 2024 (145)
- July 2024 (136)
- August 2024 (154)
- September 2024 (212)
- October 2024 (255)
- November 2024 (196)
- December 2024 (143)
- January 2023 (182)
- February 2023 (203)
- March 2023 (322)
- April 2023 (298)
- May 2023 (268)
- June 2023 (214)
- July 2023 (212)
- August 2023 (257)
- September 2023 (237)
- October 2023 (264)
- November 2023 (286)
- December 2023 (177)
- January 2022 (293)
- February 2022 (329)
- March 2022 (358)
- April 2022 (292)
- May 2022 (271)
- June 2022 (232)
- July 2022 (278)
- August 2022 (253)
- September 2022 (246)
- October 2022 (196)
- November 2022 (232)
- December 2022 (167)
- January 2021 (182)
- February 2021 (227)
- March 2021 (325)
- April 2021 (259)
- May 2021 (285)
- June 2021 (272)
- July 2021 (277)
- August 2021 (232)
- September 2021 (271)
- October 2021 (304)
- November 2021 (364)
- December 2021 (249)
- January 2020 (272)
- February 2020 (310)
- March 2020 (390)
- April 2020 (321)
- May 2020 (335)
- June 2020 (327)
- July 2020 (333)
- August 2020 (276)
- September 2020 (214)
- October 2020 (233)
- November 2020 (242)
- December 2020 (187)
- January 2019 (251)
- February 2019 (215)
- March 2019 (283)
- April 2019 (254)
- May 2019 (269)
- June 2019 (249)
- July 2019 (335)
- August 2019 (293)
- September 2019 (306)
- October 2019 (313)
- November 2019 (362)
- December 2019 (318)
- January 2018 (291)
- February 2018 (213)
- March 2018 (275)
- April 2018 (223)
- May 2018 (235)
- June 2018 (176)
- July 2018 (256)
- August 2018 (247)
- September 2018 (255)
- October 2018 (282)
- November 2018 (282)
- December 2018 (184)
- January 2017 (183)
- February 2017 (194)
- March 2017 (207)
- April 2017 (104)
- May 2017 (169)
- June 2017 (205)
- July 2017 (189)
- August 2017 (195)
- September 2017 (186)
- October 2017 (235)
- November 2017 (253)
- December 2017 (266)
- January 2016 (164)
- February 2016 (165)
- March 2016 (189)
- April 2016 (143)
- May 2016 (245)
- June 2016 (182)
- July 2016 (271)
- August 2016 (247)
- September 2016 (233)
- October 2016 (191)
- November 2016 (243)
- December 2016 (153)
- January 2015 (1)
- February 2015 (4)
- March 2015 (164)
- April 2015 (107)
- May 2015 (116)
- June 2015 (119)
- July 2015 (145)
- August 2015 (157)
- September 2015 (186)
- October 2015 (169)
- November 2015 (173)
- December 2015 (205)
- March 2014 (2)
- March 2013 (10)
- June 2013 (1)
- March 2012 (7)
- April 2012 (15)
- May 2012 (1)
- July 2012 (1)
- August 2012 (4)
- October 2012 (2)
- November 2012 (2)
- December 2012 (1)