Saturday, 26 August 2017

Mourning the Demise of Plastic Bags



In the village where I grew up, every home had a basket. It may have been made of sisal or nylon thread. It might also have been made from reed straw but there was no family without one. The basket, coupled with an account with one of the three shopkeepers in the entire village ensured that everyone in the village could do their monthly, weekly, or arbitrary (never impulse) shopping.

Sugar and rice used to be packed into khaki paper bags. Even the tape to seal the bags was made from paper coated on one side with a sugar solution which the shopkeeper would lick before sticking it on. It used to be a really neat affair and it appeared as if all shopkeepers had been well trained in packing stuff.

That covers our history lesson for 90s kids and millennials. Then came plastic bags marking the extinction of all traditional woven baskets. Every Mama Mboga (Green Grocer) in villages and estates across the country could be seen with packets of the light-weight clear bags which would make her lick her fingers before rubbing on the flimsy material to open it up to pack tomatoes and sukuma wiki (kales).

Travelling Light
Many people, particularly men, do not carry bags any more. They can buy whatever they need and get it packed into our ubiquitous plastic bags. People’s busy schedules do not have to include rushing to the house to pick a kiondo (woven basket) whenever they need to buy and carry something. People have gotten used to travelling light. That era however, is coming to an abrupt end in the next few days.

Versatility Galore
A plastic bag can be used as a carrier bag, food dish, eating glove, and garbage bag. It is hard to imagine how life was before the plastic bags came to be widely used. It is even harder to imagine how life will be without them seeing as it is that they occupy every space of our living memories. So many products will have to be introduced into our market so as to compensate for every function of our beloved plastic bags.

Peculiar Kenyan Habits
There are people who sell boiled eggs and smokies from wheeled dispensers. They use plastic bags as serviettes to serve their addicted customers. At the end of their working day, they wheel their trolleys away with all their stock and leftovers. If you come to the site later, you can still tell the exact spot where they had been conducting their business. This is because; their faithful customers would have dropped every single piece of plastic film on which they had been served their favourite delicacy. The entire area would be littered with the now dirty plastics.

If you visit Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), you will notice a small square litter bin placed on the floor right next to the machine. You are supposed to throw your receipt into the bin if you don’t want to take it home with you. The amazing thing is that most of these receipts end up on the floor all around the largely empty bin because people don’t bother to ensure that they land in the bin. The even more amazing thing is that when the machine asks someone whether he wants a receipt for the transaction, he clicks yes and yet he only glances at it for only a second before crumpling it and carelessly throwing it on the floor. Why didn’t he just tell the machine that he doesn’t need a printed receipt because he can read his balance on the screen?

Why, you might ask, is the Layman going into a long discourse of smoky eaters and ATM users? Well, it is just to show you how after the plastic bag ban, we will merely change from littering with something that takes 50 years to decompose to another thing that possibly takes much less time. The littering however is bound to remain constant. The ban will not influence our peculiar habits in any way. If anything, some people might be encouraged to litter more because they will feel like they are doing the environment a favour.

‘Ngamia One’ a Still-Birth
We have just discovered huge oil reserves in the country which are yet to be tapped. One of the most useful by-products of crude oil is (you guessed it!) polythene, used to make the now illegal plastic bags. It is safe to say that that aspect of the project is still-born. Our hope to supply all our local plastic needs while exporting the rest might remain a pipe dream.

Accept and Move On
I am not looking forward to a life without my beloved Jualas (of which I, like many other Kenyans have a large stock of in my house). I however do not have a choice because nobody will ask me what I think before deciding. On that account, I will accept and move on into the uncertain future. What else is there to do for a humble Layman?

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