Best practice of banning plastic bags in Rwanda

Best practice of banning plastic bags in Rwanda by Grace RWAKAREMA/OAG-Rwanda September 2016

Outlines: • Introduction • What was the situation before the policy was implemented? • How is the policy designed? • How does the government measure the progress? • What works well and what are the weakness? • Conclusion

Introduction The world is struggling for the economic transformation and it is interdependent with the environment as the natural resources are being exploited and the industrialization is still harming the air. The green economy is targeted for sustainable development. Rwanda being part of international and regional conventions prioritize the environmental sector and put more emphasis on the environmental pollution monitoring. Plastic bag has been invented in 1960 by a Swedish engineer and everybody thought it was a great invention. It soon became a tool that shoppers couldn’t imagine living without. However, drains and water ways became clogged with plastic.

Introduction (Ctd) Negative effects of plastic bags on environment: • blockage of sewers and drainages, poses threat to biotic species and abiotic components when incinerated, buried or damped. • breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which cause malaria. • habitat for vectors that transmits pathogens like flies and rodents. • marine places and mistaken by fishes, mammals and seabirds, these ones are likely to die from the false sense of being full after ingestion, choke during ingestion itself or die from entanglement. • compromising water quality as they can be decomposed in 450 years in aquatic areas. The single-use bags were identified as a major environmental threat and in 2008, Rwanda banned its usage, importation, manufacturing and selling for economic growth.

What was the situation before the policy was implemented? Before the policy was implemented, there was dispersion of the plastic bags alongside the country, around streets, in bushes, water, underground, etc. Obviously, the amount of plastic bags generated and discarded was extremely enormous. The direct implication of the practice was the fact that plastic bags are of lightweight and were moving around the natural environment, causing visual pollution, hence making the country unclean. Moreover, citizens were not sensitized enough about best practice of not throwing rubbish along away. Thus, the sensitization campaigns begun since 2004 where people were told to use dustbins effectively and thousands of Rwandans have taken the day off work to collect plastic bags as part of a government initiative to clean up the environment.

How is the policy designed? • Since 1996, the National Agenda and the National Environment Strategy and Action Plan were adopted. In 1997 and 1999 the policy and the law relating to the protection of the Environment were formulated but not approved. • In 2001, the Ministry in charge of natural resources including environmental matters was strengthened by the appointment of the Minister of State. • In 2005, Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) and in the same year 2005, the government enacted the environmental law. • In 2008, the government of Rwanda banned the usage, importation and selling of plastic bags. The Unit of Police in charge of environment protection was established to enforce the law.

How is the policy designed? Cont’d • EDPRS II and Vision 2020 are strategic tools for sustainable development set by the government of Rwanda and environment protection was considered as one of the priorities. According to EDPRS II: Without sound environmental management, development activities in key sectors such as agriculture, industry, infrastructure, commerce, and energy can lead to significant environmental degradation that can undermine economic growth . Also one of priorities of thematic area of Economic Transformation is “to pursue a green economy approach to economic transformation”.

How does the government measure the progress? The government proceeded with Sensitization in these ways: • Community works: talks, “clean up city day” • TV shows and emissions on radios • Short videos at airports foreign travelers • Short videos in buses • Giving incentives to plastic bags recycling companies and to manufacturers of alternatives for plastic bags • The policy of banning plastic bags also determines penalties for contravenes: jail about 6 to 12 months with fine of one hundred to five hundred thousand Rwandan Francs.

What works well and what are the weaknesses? • People from all over the world come to benchmark from the actions taken by the Rwandan government. Among others, I may say South Africa which took the good model project of community works “Umuganda” and begun implementing it in Sea Point on 26 th July, 2014. • In 2008, the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, received the UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award for their zero tolerance for plastic bags, among other environmental initiative and achievements. Kigali is the first city to win this respected award in Africa • Rwanda has chosen to ban plastic bags instead of imposing taxes on plastic bags to save lives and economy as it is developing country.

cont. • banning of plastic bags is not effective 100% as there are some activities which are compulsory in need of them such as hospitals, bakery in packing breads, etc. but there usage is effectively monitored. • Despite the ban, some hawkers continue to secretly sell plastic bags, hiding them in their pockets but the rate is very low and whoever is caught is punished by the law. • Shoppers complained that plastics bags are more adapted than paper ones mostly when they want to buy bulk purchases and others complained for the high cost and less durability of them.

Conclusion • The government of Rwanda has given priority to environment as one component of the sustainable socioeconomic development targeted. In regards, after a time being collapsed with the pollution caused by the usage of plastic bags, it decided to ban them since 2008. • The implementation of the ban has been effective and the country is now remarkable all over the world and tourists are being attracted by the clean city which is an advantage for the economic development targeted. • Lessons that can be drawn from banning plastic bags in Rwanda are:

Conclusion. cont. • Identify incentives to industries to produce alternatives to plastic bags. • Create public awareness and social media campaigns. Get the media involved in the effort. • Develop laws and regulations to support banning the plastic bag and form strong partnerships with all public sectors. • Adopt the model of community work “Umuganda” on a monthly basis or any time to easy the sensitization, clean up easily their places and enforcement of laws and policies.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION