Botswana plans phased ban on single-use plastic bags

Botswana is planning to phase out single-use plastic bags, with the government announcing the start of a gradual implementation process. The country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism announced the phased implementation of a single-use plastic bag ban on 19 August 2026. The aim is to gradually eliminate non-essential single-use plastic bags while giving businesses time to switch to more environmentally friendly alternatives.

No immediate change for travellers

For visitors to Botswana, there is no immediate impact.

The Ministry has not yet published the detailed rules or timetable for the phased rollout. It says further consultations with government departments, industry and other stakeholders will take place over the coming weeks, followed by guidelines setting out how and when the ban will be implemented.

This means travellers should not expect a sudden change at Botswana's borders, shops or supermarkets at this stage.

Botswana already has measures aimed at reducing plastic bag use, including a plastic bag levy. The new policy will go further by gradually phasing out single-use plastic bags.

For travellers, this is therefore mainly a development to keep an eye on, rather than something requiring any whatsoever changes to current travel plans.

Plastic bag bans elsewhere in Southern and Eastern Africa

Botswana is not the first country in the region to tackle single-use plastic bags. Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Mauritius and Seychelles already have national restrictions or bans, while Malawi and Zambia have restrictions on certain types of plastic bags.

South Africa, meanwhile, regulates plastic carrier bags and applies a plastic bag levy rather than having a nationwide ban. Namibia prohibits plastic bags in national parks and other protected areas.

Despite a high-profile May 2024 announcement by Eswatini's Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs of a total ban on single-use plastic carrier bags - originally set to take effect 01 December 2024 - the ban was twice postponed and ultimately suspended by Parliament in April 2025 for a further seven years.

Botswana's phased approach will therefore add another country to the region's growing efforts to reduce plastic waste.

The exact scope and timetable of Botswana's ban remain to be announced. We will update this post once the Ministry publishes the detailed implementation guidelines.

 

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eSwatini: Total ban on all single-use plastic carrier bags!

UPDATE (20 August 2026): This planned ban never fully materialised. The initial 01 December 2024 effective date was postponed to 31 January 2025, and in April 2025 the Eswatini Parliament suspended the legislation for a further seven years. Single-use plastic carrier bags therefore remain legal in the Kingdom of Eswatinifor now, despite the announcement below. Prime Minister Russell Dlamini has since reaffirmed the government's longer-term commitment to phasing out single-use plastics, most recently at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France. 

The Kingdom of Eswatini is set to introduce a total ban on all single-use plastic carrier bags. According to a press statement by the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs issued on 22 May 2024, the ban becomes effective 01 December 2024 from the issuance of a Government gazette. Under the terms of the ban, all retailers, supermarkets, manufacturers and vendors in Eswatiniwill be prohibited from selling or providing for free single-use plastic shopping bags to customers. This encompasses bags made from traditional plastic materials, including polyethylene and polypropylene, regardless of thickness. Customers are encouraged to make use of reusable alternatives such as cloth bags, paper bags or durable tote bags.

In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 89 of the Environmental Management Act, 2002, the Minister of Tourism and Environment[al] Affairs through Legal Notice No. 155 of 21 May 2021, published the Control of Plastic Bags Regulations to regulate the production, importation and use of plastic bags; promote the reuse, recycling, and safe handling of plastic bags; and ultimately ban production, importation and use of plastic bags in Eswatini.
Pursuant to Regulation 14 of the Control of Plastic Bags Regulations, 2021 and a landmark decision aimed at combating environmental degradation and promoting sustainable practices, His Majesty’s government today announces a total ban on all single-use plastic carrier bags. [...] [src.]

 

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Botswana postpones plastic bag ban until further notice!

Botswana's Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism has informed the public on facebook that the plastic bag ban (Plastic Carrier Bag and Plastic Flat Bag Prohibition), which was set to become effective on 01 November 2018, has been postponed until further notice. According to the Ministry, the postponement is being done to allow further engagement on the implementation of the prohibition in Botswana. We'll keep you posted!

Botswana to ban plastic bags! >>

Botswana to ban plastic bags!

update (26 October 2018): Botswana postpones plastic bag ban until further notice! >>

The Government of Botswana is set to ban plastic carrier bags and plastic flat bags in Botswana from 01 November 2018. The ban will however not apply to the following for health and hygiene purposes:

• Bread bag - this refers to plastic bags used for packaging bread
• Plastic bin liner - refers to plastic bags used for lining refuse bins or refuse receptacles
• Barrier bag - thin or flimsy plastic bag used to separate products at final point of sale
• Plastic refuse bag - plastic bag designed for carrying waste
• Primary packaging - refers to plastic packaging that is in direct contact with the product for purposes of containing the product during transportation or handling to the point of distribution or point of use.

Any person contravening the regulations on the prohibition of the plastic carrier bag and plastic flat bag will be committing an offence and will be liable to the following:

• For a first offender, the plastic carrier bag or the flat bag will be confiscated.
• For a second or subsequent offence the person will be liable to a fine not exceeding P5, 000.00 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 30 days or both.

The time in between until 01 November 2018 is to allow for the public and affected industries in Botswana to put in place environmentally friendly packaging systems or alternatives to the plastic bag. In Africa, Botswana will be following the footsteps of Rwanda and Kenya that have already banned plastic bags.
More information on the plastic ban can be found on the Government Gazette of 01 June 2018, Statutory Instrument no. 74 of 2018, Waste Management (Plastic Carrier Bags and Plastic Flat Bags Prohibition) Regulations of 2018.

Namibia: Swakopmund to ban the usage of plastic bags!

The Swakopmund Municipality is set to approve the implementation of a by-law to ban plastic bags. This means that the use of plastic bags will not be allowed in Swakopmund from March 2018. The long term goal is the complete termination of plastic bags, but the current focus will initially be reducing its use to promote the utilisation of re-usable and biodegradable bags, which are already available in several stores in town.

The Swakopmund Municipality will also introduce a certain levy, which will be charged to shoppers and anyone found using plastic bags.

ZIMParks to introduce a "Carry In-Carry Out" policy in Mana Pools National Park

update (29 March 2012): The Carry In Carry Out project has been officially launched in the Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. From now on, all visitors to the park will be given a rubbish bag and be required to bring out their rubbish.

Zimbabwe's Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, ZIMParks, has adpoted the environmentally conscious "Carry In-Carry Out" policy for Mana Pools National Park.
The "Carry In-Carry Out" initiative, which has been on trial in the park since March 2011, requires visitors of the Mana Pools National Park to take their all their litter, such as bottles, cans and plastics, with them when they leave the park. All visitors to Mana Pools are therefore receiving a complimentary refuse bag when they are checking it.
ZIMParks is planning to introduce the "Carry In-Carry Out" policy in other national parks before the end of 2012.

Air France completed the world’s lowest CO2 emissions flight

The French flag carrier, Air France, recently organised and completed the world’s lowest CO2 emissions flight. The plane operated by Air France on the 1h20mins flight to Paris from Toulouse used a 50% mix of sustainable biofuel, had optimised flight procedures and a reduced on-board mass.
This domestic flight in France is part of the airline's programme to contribute to the fight against climate change. Air France’s determination to conduct its business operations in a sustainable, responsible manner is central to the corporate plan, which emphasizes its societal responsibility and commitment to stakeholders.

Air France is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance. The The Air France and KLM networks are currently serving 254 destinations in 124 countries worldwide. This vast choice of destinations enables passengers to combine an outbound flight on Air France with an inbound flight with KLM (or vice versa). In 2010/11 the two airlines carried 71.3 mio. passengers.

Kenya Airways launches carbon emission off-set programme and joins Climate Neutral Network

Kenya's flag carrier Kenya Airways has announced its participation in the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net), an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). CN Net is at the forefront of the movement towards a global transition to low carbon economies and societies.
In this cooperation with UNEP, the airline will have an opportunity to implement its existing strategies for reducing and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. It will be granted access to climate neutral tools and resources and will be part of a forum for exchanging knowledge and best practice in addressing the causes of climate change.
Last month Kenya Airways launched a new voluntary Carbon offsetting tool aimed at providing a channel for its customers to contribute towards reducing the effect of carbon emissions by supporting environmental sustainability initiatives.
The initiative was developed in cooperation with International Air Transport Association (IATA) and allows the airline to offer its passengers the opportunity to participate directly in offsetting the Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions related to their flights.
The program is based on a Carbon Calculator Tool built into the airline’s online ticket booking process and through this it is now possible for a passenger to pay an additional amount in respect of carbon emissions related to that flight applied per person.

Madagascar declares three new protected areas

Madagascar has declared three new protected areas in the island's north. The three protected area are:

• Montagnes des Français (near the town of Diego Suarez) - dense deciduous dry forest, famed for various caves
• Bay of Ambodivahibe (29km from Diego Suarez) - forests, pristine coral reefs and mangrove areas
• Zone d'orangeades - famous for its three bays, first military base in the country, now converted into a sanctuary, rich biodiversity of plants and animal species.

View Diege Suarez, Madagascar in a larger map

Heart of Dryness: How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought

I just stumbled over a very interesting book titled Heart of Dryness, which discusses how the bushmen of the Kalahari Desert can teach us what we need to know about how to live in dry climates, something we're all increasingly finding ourselves in as we drill ourselves further into a global water crisis.



The dramatic story of the Bushmen of the Kalahari is a cautionary tale about water in the twenty-first century—and offers unexpected solutions for our time.
“We don’t govern water. Water governs us,” writes James G. Workman. In Heart of Dryness, he chronicles the memorable saga of the famed Bushmen of the Kalahari — remnants of one of the world’s most successful civilizations, today at the exact epicenter of Africa’s drought—in their widely publicized recent battle with the government of Botswana, in the process of exploring the larger story of what many feel has become the primary resource battleground of the twenty-first century: the supply of water.
The Bushmen’s story could well prefigure our own. In the United States, even the most upbeat optimists concede we now face an unprecedented water crisis. Reservoirs behind large dams on the Colorado River, which serve thirty million in many states, will be dry in thirteen years. Southeastern drought recently cut Tennessee Valley Authority hydropower in half, exposed Lake Okeechobee’s floor, dried up thousands of acres of Georgia’s crops, and left Atlanta with sixty days of water. Cities east and west are drying up. As reservoirs and aquifers fail, officials ration water, neighbors snitch on one another, corporations move in, and states fight states to control shared rivers.
Each year, around the world, inadequate water kills more humans than AIDS, malaria, and all wars combined. Global leaders pray for rain. Bushmen tap more pragmatic solutions. James G . Workman illuminates the present and coming tensions we will all face over water and shows how, from the remoteness of the Kalahari, an ancient and resilient people is showing the world a viable path through the encroaching Dry Age. (src.: amazon.com)

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