Lake Nakuru: Is Its Future Threatened by Plastics?

A Section of Polluted Lake Nakuru

The global prestige of Lake Nakuru is being threatened by excessive pollution that is choking Nakuru town.  Poor solid waste management and increased human activities around the town are threatening one of the country’s top animal sanctuaries. Even though siltation is the greatest risk according to Kenya Wildlife Service, solid waste pollution particularly the non-degradable plastics are draining the life out of the lake.
Lake Nakuru is an internationally renowned tourist site that is a home to wildlife. Having been designated a Ramsar Site in the late 1990s, it was also listed as a marshland of global importance for the supervision of migratory water birds. In 2009, it was also declared an Important Bird Area (IBA). Later in 2011, UNESCO listed Lake Nakuru as world heritage site. Being a home to flamingos, Lake Nakuru also hosts other 450 bird species
In 2015, 20 tons of plastic were collected from the shores of the lake and its adjacent conservation area. As revealed by animal carcasses operated on by veterinary doctors, a high incidence of plastics in their systems is an indication of how herbivores are being killed by these plastics. Most of the plastics are usually washed during heavy rains into the lake and thus draining its life slowly. Kenya Wildlife Service wants Nakuru County government to take drastic actions to stop constant use of plastic bags since a half a ton of plastic is being collected weekly from the park. These plastics are non-biodegradable and are very harmful not only to the aquatic life but also to other herbivores animals found in the park.
Even though the damage caused by plastic bags to nature is astronomical; million of plastics are still being produced daily. Surprisingly, nearly all of the plastics are not recycled and equally large amounts get disposed of in the wrong places. The plastic bags are a poisonous menace to the environment. Unlike plastic bottles that can be subjected to recycling, plastic bags should be banned since they are not economically viable to recycling due to their thickness. Recycling plastic bags are very expensive. This is the reason there are more plastic bags along the street corners and fences, unlike the plastic bottles that are being recycled.
Are plastic bags a sign of environmental wastefulness? It is illogical to produce a single-use bag that will last for several years harming the environment and killing both land and water animals. In addition, our lives are also being threatened by the same plastic bags as they offer good breeding ground for mosquitoes when in our drains.
The use of market-based approach can also offer some solution to plastics bags. The plastics bags offered by shopping malls should introduce a direct charge to make shoppers feel the pinch and reuse the plastic bags. In Scotland, the introduction of a 5-pence charge for each plastic bag taken by a shopper significantly reduced plastic bags littering on the environment. Rwanda and Mauritania are the best examples of how effective banning plastic bags are. Those who think we cannot do without plastic bags in Kenya should take a trip to Rwanda to just sees how good life is without plastic bags. The introduction of charge can encourage consumers to make smart purchasing choices and compel them to carry your own reusable bag. The move may also make consumers become consciously aware to refuse an extra wrapper whenever an item is already wrapped.
The promise by Nakuru County government to enact punitive pollution laws is a good move. They should take into account options such as introducing a charge to plastic bags and even banning them completely. The introduction of charge to plastic bags may not work best given that town is flooded with hawkers who use the plastic bag as their sole wrapping material and controlling them has been a challenge not only on Nakuru but also in other towns around Kenya. Even though banning plastic bags may appear to be a damaging control mechanism to the business community, it is the best control method that addresses the interest of everyone in the environment. Plastic bags only offer short term benefits but long term environmental harm that may last for hundreds of years.