Nairobi, 23 November 2021 – In just a few days, the US will be marking Black Friday – a routine shopping event that encourages thoughtless mass buying characterised by huge discounts and a lot of plastic packaging. The plastic pollution accumulated over this extreme shopping period could find its way to Kenya and Africa at large if the American Chemistry Council succeeds in lobbying the US to use a US-Kenya trade deal to expand the plastics industry’s footprint across Africa.
Last year, the Greenpeace investigative journalism unit Unearthed uncovered a plan by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) to reverse the progress Kenya has made on the fight against plastic pollution and make it a gateway to Africa for plastic trade.
“With the heightened promotion of consumerism culture, the true cost of Black Friday is planet earth paying heavily for our greed and unsustainable consumption. This Black Friday, we are urging president Uhuru Kenyatta not to sell Kenya as a plastic dumping ground for the US. Kenya should not be responsible for USA’s pollution!” said Erastus Ooko, Greenpeace Africa’s Mobilisation Officer.
Even after plastic was added to the list of illegal biohazardous waste outlawed by the Basel Convention, countries such as the United States (US) are still scrambling to dump their plastic waste in Africa in what has come to be popularly known as waste colonialism.
Last year over 20000 people sent a clear message to Kenya’s Ministry of Trade, Industrialisation and Enterprise Development urging the Cabinet Secretary Hon. Betty Maina to commit to Africa’s plastic-free vision by not allowing any lobbyists or the plastic industry to make Kenya a dumpster for the US. No tangible commitment has been made thus far.
“The proponents of single-use plastics are pushing for more plastic production and exportation into Africa. This could undermine progress made by countries to ban single-use plastic products and combat pollution. Kenya cannot be coerced into lowering its environmental standards by corporations who put profits before people and the environment,” continued Ooko.
Kenya’s government has invested heavily in both policy regulations and law enforcement to win the fight against plastic pollution. Kenya banned the use, manufacture and importation of single-use plastic carrier bags in 2017; it has since banned all single-use plastic from its national parks. However, lobbyists, retailers and corporations want to derail the government’s progress towards a plastic free future. The plastics industry will stop at nothing to ensure its profits continue flowing.
“There is increased plastic packaging, especially vegetables and animal products. One wonders, why does a banana, an apple or an orange need an extra layer of plastic? There has never been a more important time for Uhuru’s government to be firm and to stay true to its efforts and commitments against the plastic pollution crisis, which is exacerbating the climate crisis ,” added Ooko.
The climate crisis remains one of the biggest threats to Kenyans and mankind as a whole. In the just concluded COP26, president Kenyatta affirmed his commitment to addressing climate change. As a product of fossil fuels, plastic production – and its incineration releases harmful toxins into the environment which contribute to rising temperatures, globally. If president Kenyatta is true to his commitment to tackle the climate crisis, then rejecting the proposal by the ACC is a nonnegotiable.
Media Contacts:
Greenpeace Africa Press Desk: [email protected]
Hellen Dena,
Communications and Story Manager,
[email protected], +254 717 104 144
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