Influence of Polythene Bag Alternatives on Compliance to Environmental Legislation on Polythene Bag Ban in Rongai Sub-County, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Polythene bags have been preferred for packaging purposes because they are light in weight, cheap and resistant to degradation. Despite the benefits, poor disposal of polythene causes degradation and pollution of soil, water, land and air resources leading to health problems and climate change. Furthermore, polythene kills the wild game, livestock and aquatic organisms. These problems have led to the introduction of legislation banning polythene bags. Reports of availability of these polythene bags and emergence of poor quality alternatives present negative outcome of the environmental legislations. Therefore, this research study was aimed at studying the influence of alternative eco-friendly bags on compliance with the environmental legislation that banned its use, with a view to improving its adoption in Rongai. The descriptive research design was used in the study. A sample size of 259 respondents was selected using proportionate stratified random sampling from a target population of 18,377 households and 580 traders while purposively selected 6 key informants. Instruments used included Piloted questionnaires (0.74 Cronbach’s alpha level) and focus group discussions. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Percentages were used in descriptive statistic while Chi-square at 5% level of significance (∝ = 0.05) and correlation was used in the inferential statistic. Findings indicated that 50% of respondents used the outlawed propylene bags, the majority significantly agreed (p < 0.0001). It is suggested that there is need for promotion of eco-friendly bags.