4 years in prison for using... plastic bags

Kenya has just issued what is considered the world’s strictest penalty for any act of buying, selling, importing, or using plastic bags. Specifically, anyone who violates will be fined from 19,000 USD to 38,000 USD and face a maximum prison sentence of 4 years.

After years of delay, the ban on plastic bags has finally come into effect in Kenya. Anyone who buys, sells, imports, transports, or uses plastic bags will face a maximum fine of $38,000 or four years in prison. This is considered the most severe penalty in the world, as plastic bags are believed to be the cause of ocean congestion and the death of marine life.

Kenyans use an estimated 100 million plastic bags a year. Pictured: A landfill filled with plastic bags in Kenya.

The ban has come into effect in the African country. This also means that all plastic bags will be removed from supermarkets and shopping stores. According to the national environmental management board, visitors to Kenya will also be required to leave their plastic bags at the airport. Besides Kenya, more than 40 other countries, including China, the Netherlands, France, and Italy, apply taxes on plastic bags, limit their use, or ban their use.

In Rwanda, a small country in the lakes region of central East Africa, plastic bags are illegal. The UK introduced a 5 pence charge in shops in 2015, leading to an 80% reduction in plastic bag use. There are currently no restrictions on plastic bags in the US. However, states such as California and Hawaii have banned non-biodegradable bags.

According to the United Nations, consumers in Kenya are estimated to use around 100 million plastic bags a year. The government has given people a six-month deadline to change their plastic bag habits. The deadline ends on August 27. Kenya has previously tried to ban plastic bags in 2007 and 2011, but to no avail.

Currently, supermarkets in Kenya use biodegradable bags.

The new regulations impose fines of up to $19,000 to $38,000 or four years in prison on individuals who manufacture or import plastic bags. According to the National Environment Management Authority, plastic bags used in industrial packaging are exempt from tax. Instead of plastic bags, the Kenyan government is encouraging people to use reusable bags, including paper bags, bags made from fabric or fiber.

Visitors are not allowed to use plastic bags when visiting Kenya.

According to research from the United Nations Environment Project, the world currently has about 8 million plastic bags from plastic bags dumped into the ocean. With the current amount of waste, by 2050, people will even easily "catch" more plastic bags than seafood, seriously affecting wildlife and tourism. In Kenya, people even found plastic bags in the stomachs of cows when they were taken to slaughter.

According to Dantri