Leiden University Student Repository

Looze, Annemiek de (2020)

Banning the Bag: The Effectiveness of the Plastic Bag Ban in Kenya

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

Plastic carrier bags are a big source of plastic pollution all around the world. To combat environmental degradation, Kenya has adopted a ban on plastic bags in 2017. This action has made Kenya join the forefront of global environmental policy with regards to plastic pollution. Despite the accompanied strict penalties, the Kenyan ban on plastic bags is globally regarded as an environmental success story. Nonetheless, there are various other positive and negative effects of the ban. This thesis examines the social, environmental, and economic effects of the plastic bag ban in Kenya to determine how effective the 2017 ban has been. These three factors are intertwined and affect one another, sometimes leading to indirect negative side effects of an initial positive consequence. Taking all of the effects of the ban into account, this thesis concludes that although the environmental intentions behind the ban were to reach sustainable development in Kenya, there have been many negative...Show morePlastic carrier bags are a big source of plastic pollution all around the world. To combat environmental degradation, Kenya has adopted a ban on plastic bags in 2017. This action has made Kenya join the forefront of global environmental policy with regards to plastic pollution. Despite the accompanied strict penalties, the Kenyan ban on plastic bags is globally regarded as an environmental success story. Nonetheless, there are various other positive and negative effects of the ban. This thesis examines the social, environmental, and economic effects of the plastic bag ban in Kenya to determine how effective the 2017 ban has been. These three factors are intertwined and affect one another, sometimes leading to indirect negative side effects of an initial positive consequence. Taking all of the effects of the ban into account, this thesis concludes that although the environmental intentions behind the ban were to reach sustainable development in Kenya, there have been many negative consequences of the ban that have lowered its success.Show less

Environmental policy

Political economy

Plastic pollution

Kenya

Author

Looze, Annemiek de

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Africa

Supervisors

Smith, Karen

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en