28/10/2019
BAN PLASTIC BAGS ❌
Sites like this are common across Uganda. No formal waste management or recycling means that landfills on the side of the road are common!🗑
In 2008, one of Uganda’s neighbouring countries (Rwanda), made plastic bags are illegal!
But unlike the other 40ish countries which have banned, restricted, or taxed plastic bags, Rwanda has gone a step further and made them illegal. This includes with fines, jail time, and even public admittance of this crime! Plastic bag smugglers face up to six months in jail for carrying these environmental nuscenses. As part of this campaign, some shops have even been closed down because of cellophane use or plastic bags, requiring them to make public apologies and contributing to the countries clean up campaign. 🌍
Plastic bags are an environmental disaster. When they litter the earth, they cause damage to agricultural practices and water filtration. The nation’s zero tolerance policy toward plastic bags appears to be paying off. Streets in the capital, Kigali, and elsewhere across this densely populated country are virtually spotless. Men and women are regularly seen on the sides of roads sweeping up rubbish, and citizens are required once a month to partake in a giant neighborhood cleaning effort, including the president.🌿
Rwanda is probably Africa’s cleanest nation, and among the most pristine in the world. Though at least 15 African countries have enacted some sort of ban, many still have plastic bags littered on roads, stuck in drain pipes or caught in trees.
Other eastern African countries have decided to follow suit with Kenya introducing similarly strict ban on plastic bags.
Uganda has yet to follow suit, however there are big pushes from the youth to - keep your eyes peeled on this environmental campaign!🌍
Regram:
