Think you can't live without plastic bags? Consider this: Rwanda did it
As a post-genocide nation with a developing economy, Rwanda could have
dismissed the bag ban as unnecessary. But it didn't
Saturday 15 February 2014 12.30 GMT
A shopper carries her shopping with free supermarket shopping bags.
Photograph: ANDY RAIN/EPA
Émilie Clavel
On a recent trip to Rwanda, my luggage was searched at the border, and
the authorities confiscated some of my belongings. No, I wasn't trying
to smuggle drugs or weapons. The offenders? Three plastic bags I'd use
to carry my shampoo and dirty laundry.
You see, non-biodegradable polythene bags are illegal in Rwanda. In
2008, while the rest of the world was barely starting to consider a
tax on single-use plastic bags, the small East African nation decided
to ban them completely.
At Kigali International Airport, a sign warns visitors that plastic
bags will be confiscated. Agents from the Rwanda Environment
Management Authority (REMA) cut the plastic wrapping off negligent
travellers' suitcases. Throughout the country, businesses have been
forced to replace plastic carrier bags with paper ones.
The ban was a bold move. It paid off. As soon as I set foot in Rwanda
from neighboring Uganda, it struck me. It's clean. Looking out the
window of the bus that was taking me to Kigali, the capital, I could
see none of the mountains of rubbish I'd grown accustomed to in other
African countries. No plastic carrier bags floating in the wind or
stranded on a tree branch.
Upon arrival in Kigali the contrast is even more evident. With its
lovely green squares and wide boulevards, the Rwandan capital is one
of the most beautiful cities in Africa. And it's immaculate. Enough to
teach a lesson to scruffy - albeit beloved - Western metropolises like
New York or London. And the ban on plastic bags is just the start for
Rwanda. It's all part of the Vision 2020 plan to transform the country
into a sustainable middle-income nation.
Eventually, the country is looking to ban other types of plastic and
is even hinting at the possibility of becoming the world's first
plastic-free nation. Its constitution recognizes (pdf) that "every
citizen is entitled to a healthy and satisfying environment." It also
underlines each citizen's responsibility to "protect, safeguard and
promote the environment".
Throughout the world, many initiatives to reduce or ban the use of
non-biodegradable plastic bags have been halted because of economic
concerns. In England, for example, there is ongoing concern that a 5p
levy on single-use carrier bags could harm small businesses.
Still reeling from a horrific genocide which resulted in the deaths of
over 800,000 people in 1994, Rwanda could have dismissed the plastic
ban as an unnecessary hindrance for its developing economy. It could
have opted for a simple levy on plastic carrier bags, as have many
other American cities. But the authorities' main concern was the way
in which plastic bags were being disposed of after use. Most were
being burned, releasing toxic pollutants into the air, or left to clog
drainage systems.
Knowing it lacked the basic facilities to sustainably manage plastic
waste, Rwanda devised a clever strategy to turn the ban into a boost
to its economy. The authorities encouraged companies that used to
manufacture plastic bags to start recycling them instead by providing
tax incentives. The policy also created a market for environmentally
friendly bags, which were virtually non-existent in the country before
the ban.
Now in its sixth year, the policy has proved efficient, if not
perfect. Rwanda is starting to struggle with a lucrative black market
for the shunned plastic bags. The excessive use of paper bags is also
starting to raise concerns. But the mere fact that a developing
country facing tremendous challenges has managed to enforce such
groundbreaking legislation should make us wonder what the western
world could achieve if the political will really existed.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/15/rwanda-banned-plastic-bags-so-can-we
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SIBOMANA Jean Bosco
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