Kenya's plastic bag ban: what travellers need to know

The ban covers plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging: their use, manufacture and importation.

NEMA says the ban applies to all plastic carrier bags and flat bags used for commercial and household packaging. A carrier bag is any plastic bag, whatever its thickness or colour; a flat bag is a plastic bag without handles, with or without a gusset.

The Gazette Notice for the ban was published on 28 February 2017.

Plastic bags used for primary industrial packaging are exempt, as long as they aren't sold at the counter or given out outside the industrial setting. Small shops and clothing stores are not exempt.

NEMA says duty-free bags are not affected by the ban, but their use is restricted to the duty-free shop: travellers coming into Kenya with duty-free bags must dispose of them at the entry point, or on the aircraft before getting off.

Pack without plastic shopping bags: use a reusable fabric bag for shopping, and fabric or mesh pouches for wet or dirty items. Leave any plastic carrier bags at home.

Breaking the ban is an offence under Kenyan law. KenyaPlus doesn't hold an official statement of the penalties, so we don't repeat figures you may see elsewhere.