Ban Small ‘Buveera’
May 28, 2003
SOUTH AFRICA has placed severe restrictions on the use of polythene bags.
SOUTH AFRICA has placed severe restrictions on the use of polythene bags.
Shopkeepers will be fined as much as sh26m, or face a 10-year jail sentence, for handing out buveera to shoppers.
The move is meant to minimise the adverse effects that polythene has on the environment. Uganda, too, has similar concerns, and has instituted measures to limit their use.
But it is highly doubtful that the tax Uganda placed on polythene bags last July has made any serious inroads on the volumes used. An increase from 20% to 50% on a low-cost item (sh50 for the average type) was, at best, marginal and therefore easily accommodated in both retailers’ overheads and shoppers’ budgets. We seem, therefore, to have continued much as before.
Buveera clog the soil, because they do not decompose, and actually end up entangling vegetation. Because they are not biodegradable, they litter the environment when carelessly disposed of. Grazing animals frequently chew on them and end up with severe digestive problems that have led to death. Right now, the Nakivubo Channel, in which most of Kampala’s carelessly discarded waste ends up, is congested with plastic, which undermines the natural filtration processes in the swamps and, ultimately, the quality of water we consume.
The most effective way to contain kaveera abuse is an outright ban. South Africa is outlawing small bags, and promoting use of thicker ones that can be used over and over again. We should do the same too, while also encouraging shoppers to use alternatives like woven baskets and carrier bags (bikapu), and paper bags that have served us so well in the past. Ends
Shopkeepers will be fined as much as sh26m, or face a 10-year jail sentence, for handing out buveera to shoppers.
The move is meant to minimise the adverse effects that polythene has on the environment. Uganda, too, has similar concerns, and has instituted measures to limit their use.
But it is highly doubtful that the tax Uganda placed on polythene bags last July has made any serious inroads on the volumes used. An increase from 20% to 50% on a low-cost item (sh50 for the average type) was, at best, marginal and therefore easily accommodated in both retailers’ overheads and shoppers’ budgets. We seem, therefore, to have continued much as before.
Buveera clog the soil, because they do not decompose, and actually end up entangling vegetation. Because they are not biodegradable, they litter the environment when carelessly disposed of. Grazing animals frequently chew on them and end up with severe digestive problems that have led to death. Right now, the Nakivubo Channel, in which most of Kampala’s carelessly discarded waste ends up, is congested with plastic, which undermines the natural filtration processes in the swamps and, ultimately, the quality of water we consume.
The most effective way to contain kaveera abuse is an outright ban. South Africa is outlawing small bags, and promoting use of thicker ones that can be used over and over again. We should do the same too, while also encouraging shoppers to use alternatives like woven baskets and carrier bags (bikapu), and paper bags that have served us so well in the past. Ends