25/2/2005
Plastic Carrier Bags Declared Environmentally Unfriendly

UNEP, the Kenyan based United Nations environment agency opened a campaign this week designed to reduce demand for the ubiquitous flimsy plastic carrier bag. According to UNEP the discarded bags tend to block gutters and drains, choke farm animals and marine wildlife and pollute the soil as they gradually break down. In hot countries they can even fill with rainwater, offering ideal breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

Launching a children’s book that alerts communities to the menace of discarded plastic and welcoming a Kenyan report that proposes a ban on some bags and a tax on others UN Environment Programme (UNEP) chief Klaus Toepfer said "Wastes are an increasing problem everywhere, particularly in developing countries."

A ban on bags less than 30 microns thick and a tax on thicker ones are among a raft of proposals aimed at reducing the use of polythene bags and providing funds for alternative, more environmentally-friendly carriers such as cotton or sisal bags. An estimated 4,000 tons of thin plastic bags are produced in Kenya each month. Such a plastic bag levy could become a blue-print for similar schemes aimed at the rising tide of other wastes confronting Kenya and countries across Africa and the developing world, said UNEP. Ireland experienced a dramatic decline in demand for plastic carrier bags when a 15 euro cent tax was introduced.

The children's book launched by Mr Toepfer is 'Theo and the Giant Plastic Ball.' It is the second book in a UNEP series which aims to inspire caring for the Earth through creative literature that sparks the interest and awareness of children, their parents and teachers.