Banada Nswa, waste management expert and environmental activist, warns that the situation will get worse before it improves.

“What is the problem? The problem is not buveera, it is poor waste management,” says Banada. “The strategy on addressing the issue is still incomplete and the Government is looking at a total ban and tax as a magic bullet.” And, according to him, the ban will remain a statement of intent.

The measures taken to impose that ban should be well-thought out and should be centred on readily available alternatives to replace the buveera, give incentives to the makers of paper bags and there should also be community awareness.

“But now the Government is silent concerning such interventions,” Banada says. “The Government needs to mobilise all the actors through a policy on buveera, this is not evident in Bbumba’s statement.”

To drive his point home, Banada points out that government officials have started contradicting Bbumba’s statement, showing that there was little consultation and discussion over the matter. “That is why the total ban is being opposed by some government officials,” he asserts.

He also points out that the Government introduced a tax of 120% on polythene bags of 30 microns and above two years ago. He wonders: What happened to the generated revenue?

“For proper planning, this (revenue) should have been ploughed back into promotion of affordable alternatives like paper bags.”

NEED FOR POLITICAL WILL
Beatrice Anywar, a legislator and opposition politician, agrees with Banada. She says a plan for overcoming the polythene bag menace is necessary, but political will is more important.

“A plan by itself is not a solution, it has to come with good governance, consultation within the Government, communities and business people,” says Anywar. “Unless the total ban is well thought out, we are likely to suffer if illegal polythene bags from the neighbouring countries end up in Uganda.”

PAPER BAG MAKERS OPTIMISTIC
An investor in the paper making business, Jabir Luswata, says the total ban on buveera is a leap in the right direction and one that has been long overdue. He says this will create a fertile ground for the paper bag industry.

Besides making environmentally-friendly materials, Luswata says paper-making companies could even employ more people. His company alone, which has been exporting paper bags to Rwanda, could produce half the paper bags needed in the country.

“We have been working in an environment that is full of uncertainties,” says Luswata. “With the total ban in place, we think more investment will be directed into the paper-making business.” He adds that his company has a strong partnership with a South African firm which produces paper (raw materials) from tree plantations that are monitored and fulfill international environmental regulations.

NEMA SPEAKS OUT
Dr. Aryamanya Mugisha, the executive director of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), says the Government is serious on the total ban on polythene. “The Government is firm on this and we are putting in place an enforcement mechanism to implement the ban,” he says.

Concerning the demands from some of the manufacturers of polythene about compensation, Mugisha says: “How can you do something wrong and demand to be paid? These companies should pay an environment tax because they have been choking the environment with non bio-degradable materials.

“We have run out of time and there is no turning back on the issue of plastic bags,” Mugisha affirms, commending makers of paper bags whose products have already hit the market. “I understand some of the makers of bread and operators in the fast-food business have already started using paper bags as packaging materials.”

Other companies which have started packing materials include Engen, a fuel company with outlets in different parts of Kampala.

Mugisha cites the example of Rwanda where polythene bags were banned and people never failed to pack their goods.

Mugisha urges the manufacturers of polythene bags to comply with the total ban, saying the cost of a polluted environment would be much higher than the profits companies are making while polluting the environment.

DANGERS OF POLYETHENE

Apart from causing unsightly landscapes, Dick Lufafa, an environmental officer at NEMA, says polythene is not friendly to the environment. “Polythene poisons the soil, blocks drains and creates an unsightly health hazard,” he says.

Given the dangers of plastics, many people like Kasibante only use them as a necessary evil. But the politicians at the heart of the solution are pulled in different directions. Is this the writing on the wall that the total ban on plastics may not be effective?

By Gerald Tenywa, The New Vision, 21st June 2009