As we commemorate World Environment Day 2025 under the theme “Ending Plastic Pollution,” we are challenged to look beyond litter and clean-ups and confront the hidden health crisis caused by plastic pollution.
In February, CEJAD released two studies that uncovered alarming levels of hazardous chemicals in plastic products such as children’s PVC toys sold across Kenya and also food chain contamination from the disposal of plastic and other waste from hotspots such as dumpsites and incineration facilities. We cannot recycle our way out of a plastic crisis. We must close the tap of plastic production.
Plastic are made of carbon (fossil fuel and chemicals). At the upstream phase plastic production, burning of the plastic leads to emission of greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. At the midstream phase consumers are often exposed to chemicals used in plastics as they encounter these materials. At the downstream plastics are often disposed of in open dumpsites where they occasionally burn releasing toxic chemicals, exposing waste pickers and communities living near the dumpsites to these chemicals.
The plastic crisis is global, but its impacts are unequal, as vulnerable populations bear the greatest burden. Globally, waste pickers, informal recyclers, and communities near plastic factories or dumpsites suffer repeated exposure to toxic fumes and hazardous waste. While they play a critical role as environmental champions, they are always excluded from policy-making processes.
Kenya is actively participating in the global plastics treaty negotiations with clear demands calling for a reduction in plastic production, elimination of toxic chemicals in plastics, the need for transparency on the chemicals used in plastics, and the adoption of sustainable alternatives.
We call on the government to fully enforce the ban on single-use plastic bags and expand it to include other problematic and unnecessary plastic items and close loopholes that allow illegal imports through porous borders.
The treaty must ensure that hazardous additives like phthalates, MCCPs, and UV stabilizer are phased out in-order to ensure a non-toxic circular economy.
The plastic crisis cannot be solved without addressing its root cause, which is the production of plastic, especially single-use plastics.
We urge researchers to actively support alternative transition by facilitating inclusive spaces, generating evidence on grassroots innovations, and ensuring participatory approaches in policy design and implementation. A just transition must be collaborative, equitable, accountable and locally grounded
Democratic plastic governance is needed, which involves developing policies and laws in a transparent, inclusive, and participatory manner. It takes actions that ensure accountability and promote community empowerment in acting against plastic pollution, propelling innovation against plastic pollution.
Kenya has shown leadership in combating plastic pollution by banning plastic carrier bags in 2017 and extending the ban to single-use plastics in protected areas, forests, and beaches in 2020.
Kenya further addresses plastic pollution through the Sustainable Waste Management Policy and Act, which requires all producers to bear Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for products placed on the Kenyan market, as well as through waste management regulations.
We therefore call on the government to expand the ban to include other problematic and unnecessary plastic items and close loopholes that allow illegal imports through porous borders.
We strongly urge the plastic industry and producers to reduce production volumes, shift to safe and sustainable alternatives, and take full responsibility for the plastics already polluting our environment. This includes supporting the removal of post-consumer plastic waste and paying for the environmental and social costs of plastic pollution. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is not optional.
It is a moral, legal, and environmental imperative.
Griffins Ochieng is the Executive Director, Centre for Environment Justice and Development (CEJAD).
