In Kenya, Urgent Calls For A Global Plastics Treaty

Kenya’s biggest landfill is but a short distance from the United Nations complex in Nairobi where talks on a global plastics treaty are taking place this week.

According to official data, the equivalent of 30 trucks of throwaway plastic packaging, bags and containers are tipped on to Dandora dump on a daily basis.

This global waste crisis has sparked calls for radical action in a treaty billed as the most important environmental pact since the Paris Agreement.

The equivalent of 30 trucks of throwaway plastic packaging, bags and containers are tipped on to Dandora dump daily, according to official data, a trend set to worsen with global plastic pollution forecast to double over the next decade.

This global waste crisis, which is destroying habitats, killing wildlife and contaminating the food chain, has sparked calls for radical action in a treaty billed as the most important environmental pact since the Paris Agreement.

Hibrahim Otieno, a local environmental official told Newsmen at the dump site, “Our expectation is that when the treaty is signed, countries commit to stop the production of such plastics,”

But how the treaty will tackle single-use plastic production and use is set to be one of the thorniest issues in the talks, according to officials involved, as well as what elements of it will be legally binding and how it will be financed.

Behind-the-scenes, powerful oil and chemical companies who manufacture plastics have been reportedly urging governments to reject provisions that could curb their business.