Kenya tackles plastic waste as it hosts treaty talks
As the world's nations gather in Kenya to enter another round of talks on creating a first-ever treaty to contain plastic pollution, plastic waste grows in Kenya's landfills. - REUTERS
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00:00 This is Kenya's Dandora landfill, Nairobi's main dumping ground, and one of the largest
00:08 landfills in the world.
00:10 It's filled with single-use plastic, despite major steps taken in recent years by Kenya
00:16 to reduce its environmental footprint.
00:18 The country is urging for a strong, binding agreement on plastics, as international delegates
00:24 gather there to discuss creating the first-ever treaty to contain plastic pollution.
00:29 People say a shift in mindset is already happening.
00:33 In 2017, Kenya imposed the world's toughest law against plastic bags.
00:39 Kenyans producing, selling, or even using plastic bags risk imprisonment of up to four
00:44 years or fines of $40,000.
00:49 It recently expanded its waste management law, which now puts the responsibility on
00:53 producers to properly dispose of their products instead of consumers.
01:00 Kenyan dairy products firm Bio Foods has embraced the new legislation.
01:05 It's replaced its white PET polyethylene terephthalate milk bottles to clear ones.
01:11 Rosalind Raru is head of sustainability at the company.
01:14 "We've gotten very positive feedback from the recyclers because it's more recyclable
01:18 than the previous white PET that we were using."
01:21 Dominic Kagwe's company is among those recyclers.
01:25 "Clear PET is a better devil to live with because we can easily be able to fully recycle
01:32 it and get it back into the market, avoiding virgin products coming into the market."
01:40 According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, virgin plastics have reached unsustainable
01:46 levels.
01:48 It remains a significant environmental issue in Kenya.
01:52 But Raru says the recent legislation is helping shift Kenyans' mindsets.
01:57 "A couple of years ago when we started, when we tried out this project, we didn't get as
02:02 much positive feedback as we're getting from the consumers right now, which for us just
02:06 proves that our customer base and the Kenyans in general have become more environment conscious."
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