Kenya urged to adopt policies that support recycling of plastics

Kenya has been advised to set up policies that facilitate recycling of plastic waste in order to prevent them for polluting large water masses and harming marine life.

The appeal came through the Aga Khan University’s launch of a documentary on plastic pollution and recycling in Nairobi last week.

The documentary backs Kenya’s recent ban on the use of plastic bags saying the move contributes to efforts being made to protect the country’s rivers and the ocean as well as prevent flooding caused by clogged drainage channels in towns.

Andrew Tkach, director, environmental reporting programme at Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) and the executive producer of Giving Nature a Voice, said when he first started working on the project he was told that Africans don’t care about the environment, and only well-funded projects truly capture the beauty and pathos of the continent’s landscape.

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“Today, however, that perception has been shifted by the reality of the true importance our environment plays in the daily lives of Kenyans, and through documentaries such as the one that has premiered today,” said Mr Tkach. On Thursday, GSMC premiered a documentary called Plastics are Forever. The documentary examines how flip flops, plastic bottles and nets clutter Kenya’s sand beaches. It also features local efforts to recycle waste and free ensnared marine life.

The documentary, which also opened the second season for the university’s documentary series Giving Nature a Voice, is scheduled to begin airing in December 10.

“We have to begin by doing the basic — stop releasing flip flops, plastic bottles and other clutter into the waters. It is also time to embrace technological solutions that can help preserve this delicate future, ”said Mr Tkach.