Plastic bag ban will benefit the economy despite initial losses

A woman sorts out plastic bags after washing them for re-use in Nairobi on June 24, 2014. FILE PHOTO | AFP

On August 28, plastic bags became illegal in Kenya, marking the third attempt since 2005 by the government to ban polythene bags below 30 microns.

In a country where about 100 million plastic bags are handed out by supermarkets alone, plastic bags have long been identified as the cause of environmental damage and health problems: killing birds, animals and fish that mistake them for food, damaging agricultural land and polluting the environment.

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