Somalia took the ambitious step of banning single-use plastic bags this year, but in a country with many economic challenges, it has proved hard to implement.
It follows similar plastic bans in other east African countries including Kenya and Tanzania.
But brightly-coloured polythene still dominates in the markets and shops of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.
Long bedevilled by conflict, Somalia passed its law in February, but did not implement it until October. Despite a few arrests, there is little sign it is having an impact.
“We are using these bags because they are cheap and people can afford them,” grocer Abdikarim Hassan told AFP, from his stall stacked with plastic-wrapped goods in a central Mogadishu market.
“Everybody knows the negative consequences of using these plastic bags, but the question is: What do we have to replace them?”
AFP
