Assessing the impact of banning the single-use plastic carrier bags: a case study for Kenyan marine environment looking at macro, meso, and microplastics.

Abstract

Poor waste management and unsustainable institutional and individual behaviors, have led to the accumulation of plastic litter in many habitats worldwide. Assessment of plastic pollution in Kenyan marine environment was conducted focusing on the impact of banning the single-use plastic carrier bags in Kenya. The quantification, composition, and distribution of plastics were determined at nine (9) beaches along Kenyan coastline using standing stock method. A total of 750 plastic items were collected and categorized with only 47 pieces being single-use plastic carrier bags. A great number of plastics (n = 383), were identified by their original use, with packaging plastics being the most common (n = 155). Macroplastics were the overall dominant plastics at 76%, mesoplastics, 21% and microplastics, 3%, which were altogether dominated by low-density polyethylene (LDPE) at (46%), followed by polypropylene (PP), 30%; polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET), 9%; polyvinyl chloride (PVC), 8%; and polystyrene (PS), 7%. The absence of identifiable single-use plastic carrier bags in 6 out of 9 beaches signified the effectiveness of the ban in Kenya. Monitoring of trends and sources of plastic debris is encouraged to help enhance the science-policy linkage aimed at reducing marine plastic pollution.