Uganda to enforce ban single-use plastics amid mounting waste crisis

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Uganda’s environmental watchdog is taking bold steps to eliminate single-use plastics, citing the growing threat they pose to public health, ecosystems, and the country’s climate resilience.

Dr. Barirega Akankwasa, the Executive Director of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), revealed that they are pushing to amend the legislation and enforce a total ban on single-use plastics.

He explained that single-use plastics are too thin to recycle and are designed to be discarded after one use.

Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre (UMC) in Kampala, today May 6, 2025, ahead of World Environment Day 2025, Akankwasa noted that Uganda generates around 600 metric tons of plastic waste each day, with less than 40% of it properly collected and managed. He said, the rest is discarded carelessly and ends up in the environment, clogging drainage systems, polluting water bodies, and degrading agriculture farms.

Kampala alone he added produces about 180 metric tons of plastic waste daily, further straining the capital's waste infrastructure. Similar conditions were reported in cities such as Jinja, Mbale, and Mbarara.

Akankwasa noted that past attempts to regulate plastic use fell short due to economic and political interests.

“In 2019 the NEMA Act banned only single-use plastics below 30 microns but you and me know that our human eye cannot distinguish between 30 microns and even 100 microns because they look the same. 

To be able to tell that this carrier bag you are carrying is illegal, the enforcer has to take a sample of it to the laboratory first to determine the microns to tell you that you are carrying an illegal kavera or a right one.  Practically it doesn’t work,” he noted.

Now, NEMA is spearheading an amendment to fully outlaw all single-use plastic bags.

“We are coming up with an amendment of NEMA Act Cap 1 (81) to totally ban singe use plastics. We rally Ugandans to support the total ban of single-use plastics in Uganda,” he noted.

The goal, he said, is to remove ambiguity and align Uganda with regional neighbours who have already phased out such products.

“This isn’t about eliminating all plastics, it’s about eliminating the bad plastics. So, single-use plastics are the bad ones,” he added.

Globally, over 430 million tons of plastic are produced annually, with two-thirds of that made up of single-use products. Only 9% of this waste is recycled, meaning most of it ends up in landfills, rivers, and oceans.

Akankwasa said in Uganda, such waste contributes to flooding, soil degradation, water contamination, and tact as a breading ground for various disease-carrying pests like mosquitoes.

Akankwasa warned that without drastic action, Uganda could reach a “point of no return.”

He said Uganda is risking a future where lakes have more plastic than fish, and where soils have more plastic than nutrients that plant.

NEMA is calling on schools to start discouraging students from taking plastic bags, and urging producers to take more responsibility for post-consumer waste.

As part of Uganda’s commitment to addressing the crisis, the country will join over 150 nations to mark World Environment Day on June 5, hosted this year in Kabale District under the global theme: “United Against Plastic Pollution.”

Planned activities include nationwide clean-up drives, public awareness campaigns, school competitions, tree planting, exhibitions, and recognition of local environmental champions.

Akankwasa emphasized that recycling alone cannot solve the crisis. “If globally less than 10% of plastic is recycled, what happens to the remaining 90%?” he asked.

The government’s broader approach includes stricter enforcement of plastic regulations, investment in recycling infrastructure, promotion of eco-friendly products, and partnerships with communities, private companies, and NGOs.

Akankwasa stressed that if  other countries in the region have banned the ‘kavera’ without economic collapse, Uganda can also do it.