By Getahun Tsegaye
Staff Reporter
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – Ethiopia’s parliament passed a new national dry waste management and disposal law during its 33rd regular session, officially designating it as Proclamation No. 1383/2017.
The new proclamation imposes fines ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 Birr on individuals found in possession of single-use plastic bags, including the commonly used one-Birr bags for packaging injera, bread, and other goods.
The Dry Waste Management and Disposal Proclamation, ratified on Tuesday further enforces stricter penalties on manufacturers, importers, marketers, retailers, and commercial stores of single-use plastic bags. Violators in these categories face fines between 50,000 and 200,000 Birr and imprisonment of up to five years.
However, the measure has stirred concern among members of parliament, who questioned the practicality and fairness of the regulation.
Alemu Gonfa (PhD), a member of the Council, raised multiple issues during the session. “If our people enter their homes with plastic items, should they throw them away? Or should they return them for environmental protection?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if the plastic products we manufacture were reusable? Because it’s not appropriate to say ‘use it only once’ for plastic that I could use 10 times. The proclamation does not specify where to put the plastic after I use it.”
He further questioned whether the public has the necessary awareness to comply. “The proclamation stipulates that those found in possession shall be punished. Will our people have this awareness? Do they have the understanding to differentiate which plastic it is?”
Another Council member expressed concern over the socioeconomic impact of the measure: “The proclamation stipulates that anyone found with plastic shall be fined two to five thousand Birr; how is this viewed in light of our reality? Especially, won’t it create pressure on the low-income segment of society since they might use it?”
Responding to these criticisms, Awoke Amzaye (PhD), Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Committee for Water, Irrigation, Lowland Areas, and Environmental Development Affairs, stated that the legislation does take into account the financial limitations of low-income citizens.
“If an elderly woman or man buys two Birr worth of bread or ten Birr worth of sugar and is told to pay a 5,000 Birr fine, they might not have it, so the fine has been reduced from 5,000 to 2,000 Birr, which also takes into account the public’s ability to pay,” he said.
Dr. Awoke stressed the broader environmental concern behind the regulation. “Plastic bags are more harmful to the country than the fine itself, as they do not decompose for up to a hundred years. From this perspective, even if the fine were twenty or thirty thousand Birr, it would be to save the country.”
A nationwide public awareness campaign will be launched this Thursday to inform citizens about the details of the new regulation and its environmental rationale.
It was also clarified during the session that the proclamation does not include plastic shoes, water containers, or thick plastic items.
In addition to the penalties, the proclamation imposes an obligation on all individuals to clean areas extending more than twenty meters from their residential boundaries.
The proclamation will come into effect nationwide upon its publication in the Negarit Gazeta.
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