The decision was announced yesterday by the President of the Republic of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta and subsequently appeared in the Official Gazette signed by the Minister of Tourism and Wildlife Najib Balala: from June 4, 2020 in Kenya will be prohibited to introduce and use plastic bottles, in addition to any other plastic object for single use, in all parks, reserves, forests and beaches of the country.
In addition to bottles and small bottles, "single use plastic objects" means any plastic container such as trays, glasses, cups, cutlery as well as straws and any type of plastic bag.
Kenyatta made the announcement during the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver, Canada, to which he was invited.
In a subsequent twit he confirmed that Kenya being one of the protagonists of environmental sustainability, it is his task to demonstrate with facts the commitment to the protection of the planet, hence the decision.
The ban on the use of all types of plastic in protected areas in Kenya had already been proposed by the Ministry of the Environment following the abolition of polyethylene bags and should go in the direction of prohibiting the production and sale of all types of beverage bottles in the near future.
Clearly, the invitation addressed to all, by Kenyan environmentalists and associations operating in the savannah, in Nature and on the beaches of Kenya, is to suspend the sale and purchase of plastic in the vicinity of these areas. Already many hotels, even in Kilifi County, have decided to abolish plastic straws and are restricting as much as possible the trade of water and soda in plastic bottles. 20-litre dispensers are used for water, while glass is preferred for soft drinks.