Waste Management Outlook for Mountain Regions

CASE STUDY

Plastics Ban in Rwanda Rwanda, a mountainous country in East Africa and often referred to as the country of a thousand hills, set an example to the rest of the world in reducing plastic pollution when the Government decided to ban non-biodegradable polythene bags (FAOLEX, 2008). The manufacture, sale, import and use of plastic bags is forbidden and visitors’luggage is examined on arrival in Rwanda, to prevent plastic bags being brought into the country. The main driver behind the ban was the fact that Rwanda lacked the means to sustainably manage plastic waste, triggering serious health and environmental risks. The bags littered the surroundings, clogged drainage systems causing floods during the rainy season, and released toxic fumes when people burnt their waste. The lawwas part of the‘Vision 2020’plan to transform the country into a sustainable, knowledge-based, middle-income nation by the year 2020 (Government of Rwanda, 2013). In addition to enacting the law, the Government has invested in awareness campaigns on television and in schools to instil an environmental consciousness among its citizens (Van der Poel, 2013). The measures seem to have worked: while the rest of the world is

struggling to reduce plastic production and pollution, Rwanda has been praised for its environmental protection measures and the capital, Kigali, has a reputation of being the cleanest city in Africa, which contributed to the city receiving the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award in 2008. The ban has also boosted the economy. Companies that used to produce plastic receive tax incentives to recycle it instead and a new community-based market was created for environmentally- friendly bags made from local materials. The country has also seen a large increase in tourism, which has been partly attributed to Rwanda’s clean reputation. The fact that Rwanda has managed to eliminate all plastic bags is an extraordinary achievement in itself. However, not everybody is happy with the ban; many vendors think that paper bags are not a good alternative because they tear and are not suitable for all types of content. There is also a concern now about the increasing amount of paper bags and no real research has been done into the costs and benefits of such a ban. As with many other prohibited goods, there is now a profitable black market in plastic bags (Dundas et al., 2013).

Kigali, Rwanda. Photo © iStock/Sloot

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