By KT Reporter
Environment stakeholders have renewed their call for a total ban on single-use plastics, particularly polythene carrier bags (commonly known as kaveera) under 30 microns, as part of efforts to protect the country’s environment. The demand was made on Wednesday during belated World Environment Day celebrations held at Kigezi High School playground in Kabale District. The event was held under the theme: “Ending Plastic Pollution.”
Uganda initially announced a ban on the manufacture and use of polythene bags under 30 microns in April 2015. However, the directive was suspended just two months later following a directive by President Yoweri Museveni, who asked Cabinet to review and create a new phased implementation plan. A subsequent bill presented in Parliament in 2019 also failed to pass.
Speaking at the celebrations, Achiles Byaruhanga, Executive Director of Nature Uganda, read a public declaration on plastic pollution calling for a complete ban on single-use plastics. He said the declaration was a result of a national dialogue hosted the previous day at Kabale University.
Byaruhanga said the dialogue had drawn participation from government ministries and agencies, civil society, academia, religious leaders, and the general public, all of whom unanimously backed the proposed ban, citing the devastating effects of plastic pollution.
He noted that plastics have led to increased flooding in urban areas like Kampala and endangered wildlife. Investigations, he added, indicate that plastics contribute to climate change and can enter the human body as microplastics, increasing cancer risk. Despite the widespread support, some environmentalists expressed concern over enforcement. Lamech Duhimbaze, from Nyanamo Community Conservation and Development Organization and Million Trees International in Kisoro District, said the demand may remain unmet because many essential products—like salt—are traditionally packaged in polythene.
Balilegah Akankwasa, Executive Director of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), reiterated the need to phase out polythene bags. He said it costs approximately USD 3,000 to clean up just one tonne of polythene, making it both environmentally and economically unsustainable.
UNDP Country Resident Representative Vwede Mwanne Obahor added that over 430 million tonnes of single-use plastics are produced globally each year, with only 9 percent recycled—the rest contributing to environmental degradation.
Representing President Museveni at the event, State Minister for Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives David Bahati said Uganda generates 600 metric tonnes of plastic waste every day—of which only 36 tonnes (6 percent) are recycled. “That means 564 metric tonnes end up in the environment daily—polluting water bodies and degrading the soil,” he stated.
Museveni, in the speech read for him, urged Ugandans, manufacturers, and stakeholders to explore local natural resources to develop alternative, eco-friendly packaging materials. He emphasized the need to conserve the environment, not poverty.
During the event, Bahati also launched the National State of the Environment Report 2024 and the National Environment Research Agenda 2024/2025–2028/2029, compiled by NEMA. He pledged to present the renewed demands to President Museveni for further discussion at the Cabinet level-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
