NEMA arrests five traders in Kenya plastic bag crackdown

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has arrested five traders in Kenya’s Coast region during a multi-sector operation to enforce the ban on plastic carrier and flat bags. The crackdown is part of a nationwide effort to uphold the Environmental Management and Coordination (Management and Control of Plastic Packaging Materials) Regulations, 2024.

In addition to the arrests, NEMA officers inspected various industries licensed to use plastic bags for industrial and non-industrial packaging. Facilities found to be operating outside their specific licensing requirements were ordered to regularize their operations through the NEMA licensing portal.

NEMA warned that manufacturing, importing, exporting, using, selling, or possessing banned plastic carrier or flat bags without a license is a criminal offense. Under the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, violators face fines ranging from Ksh2 million to Ksh4 million, imprisonment for one to four years, or both.