Geography majors and Biology and Environment (Environmental Geography) students will have the opportunity during the recess week of Sem 1, Academic Year 2020-2021 to camp at several locations in the Kenyan part of the Great Rift Valley, eastern Africa.
Plastic pollution has become a major problem in Kenya, as in many African countries, and indeed many parts of the world, as existing waste management facilities struggle to keep pace with the changing nature and increased volumes of waste in general and plastic waste in particular. In response, the Government in Kenya introduced a complete ban on the use of plastic bags in the country a year or so ago. Anyone found violating the law faces a fine of up to almost US$ 40,000 and a custodial sentence of up to four years!
For a report on the situation in Kenya a year after the ban, see the opinion piece here.
Other countries in Africa have introduced bans on plastic bags, others have tried to influence behaviour through the implementation of taxes on plastics. No country anywhere in the world has introduced anything so extreme as in Kenya. Some countries have adopted a different approach, viewing plastic waste as an economic opportunity. See here for an example from Nigeria – Nigeria’s Plastic Bag Fashionistas! As students who visit Kenya will no doubt discover for themselves, there are few places on Earth as innovative – in the truest sense of the word – as Africa.