Namibia introduces a mandatory environmental levy on plastic bags! [update]

update (19 September 2019): The mandatory N$0,50 environmental levy on plastic bags will be introduced nationwide in October 2019!

Namibia introduces a mandatory N$0,50 environmental levy on plastic bags. According to the Government Gazette 6967 (02 August 2019), plastic materials like sacks and bags (including cones), carrier bags, flat bags (excluding immediate packings, zip-lock bags and household bags including refuse bags and refuse bin liners) will carry the new environmental levy fee. The funds generated through the plastic bag levy will be directed to Namibia's Environmental Investment Fund. The country plans to ban plastic bags completely by 2022.

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Namibia to introduce a levy on plastic bags!

Namibia is set to introduce a compulsory levy on non-biodegradable plastic bags. The levy is still being finalised by the country's Ministry of Finance and is expected to be gazzetted in July 2019. According to Ministry of Environment and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda, the envisaged plastic levy should be viewed as entry point to ban plastics. The funds generated through the plastic bag levy will be directed to Namibia's Environmental Investment Fund. Some shops in Namibia, such as Pick n Pay Namibia, already started charging 50 cents per plastic bag at the beginning of June 2019.

Namibia bans plastic bags in game parks and nature reserves! (Nov. 2018) >>

Tanzania to ban single-use plastic bags! [update]

update (16 May 2019): The office of the Vice President of Tanzania has released an official notice to travelers planning to visit Tanzania regarding the ban of plastic carrier bags.

 
Tanzania is set to ban the production, importation, sale and use of all single-use plastic bags by July 2019 from 01 June 2019. Single-use non-biodegradable plastics have been identified by the United Nations as one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges. Tanzania will join its East African neighbours Rwanda and Kenya, which have already banned single-use plastic bags. Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, implemented a ban of light plastics already back in 2006. Namibia has also banned plastic bags, but only in its game parks and nature reserves!

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.

Kenya bans plastic bags!

The government of Kenya has banned the import, use and manufacture of plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging. The ban, which was made public by the country's Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources Prof. Judi W. Wakhungu on 15 March 2017, will become effective on 28 August 2017.



The banned plastic bags fall in in two categories:

• carrier bags - "constructed with handles, and with or without gussets"
• flat bags - "constructed without handles, and with or without gussets"

Did you know... plastic bags are prohibited in Rwanda

Rwanda banned plastic bags in the country already in 2007. The goverment's decision to ban all non-biodegradable polyethylene (plastic) bags is based on a scientific study on the impact of plastic bags on the Rwandan environment, as well as the plastic bags contribution to the economy of our country. The outcomes of the study showed an overwhelming negative impact of plastic bags on the environment and so the government of Rwanda agreed to ban all plastic bags in the country.
If you are travelling to Rwanda, your luggage may get searched at the border and sometimes even at police checkpoints throughout the country to make sure you are not carrying plastic bags. Travellers carrying plastic bags upon arrival at the Kigali International Airport in Rwanda's capital Kigali may have them confiscated and have to pay for a reusable cloth replacement.

Plastic bags banned in Rwanda

Travellers visiting Rwanda should know that the use of plastic bags (any plastic bag, even the duty free ones...) is now prohibited in Rwanda. The authorities banned them in order to combat pollution and littering in the country.

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