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 led to the introduction of legislation in 2017 banning polythene bags of less than 30 microns. Reports of availability of these polythene bags and emergence of poor quality alternatives in Kenya indicate lack of compliance to this environmental Legislation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the influence of polythene bags alternatives on the extent of compliance to environmental legislation on polythene bag ban in Rongai sub-county, Nakuru County, Kenya and to recommend possible solutions. 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 and purposively selected 6 Key informants. Instruments used included Piloted questionnaires (0.74 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 led to the introduction of legislation in 2017 banning polythene bags of less than 30 microns. Reports of availability of these polythene bags and emergence of poor quality alternatives in Kenya indicate lack of compliance to this environmental Legislation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the influence of polythene bags alternatives on the extent of compliance to environmental legislation on polythene bag ban in Rongai sub-county, Nakuru County, Kenya and to recommend possible solutions. 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 and purposively selected 6 Key informants. Instruments used included Piloted questionnaires (0.74 Cronbach’s alpha level), focus group discussions Observation and photography. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Percentages were used in descriptive statistic while Chi-square at 5% level of significance ((=0.05) was used in the inferential statistic. Results indicated that 50% of respondents use propylene bags which was attributed to the lack of alternatives by the majority significantly agreeing (p<.0001). This study is important in the reforms of Environmental policy, promotion of awareness and compliance of this legislation in Kenya.