As the Canadian government awaits a court ruling on its ban on single-use plastics, Kenya offers a real-life illustration of the severe yet overlooked impact of plastic pollution far from global headlines.
In late 2023, researchers at The Donkey Sanctuary and the University of Portsmouth discovered that a cow in Kenya’s Lamu County had 35 kilograms of plastic waste in its stomach. This grim finding echoed findings from a landmark 2018 report by Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) that revealed more than half of the cattle slaughtered at Nairobi’s main abattoirs had plastics in their digestive systems.
When a 2015 viral video showed a plastic straw being painfully removed from a sea turtle’s nostril, global outrage ensued, galvanizing international anti-plastic initiatives. Kenya quickly became an environmental leader, introducing a stringent plastic bag ban in 2017. Yet, beneath the surface, enforcement remains patchy. Smuggled plastic bags and single-use wrappings continue to be used in border towns. Vendors in poor communities rely on cheap, disposable plastic wrappings because of the scarcity of affordable, sustainable alternatives. According to the World Bank, in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi, only about 45 per cent generated waste is recycled or reused; in rural areas, most plastic waste is burned or dumped.
For rural communities in Kenya, livestock represent more than animals – they represent livelihoods, food security and economic stability. Obadiah Sing’Oei, program manager at The Donkey Sanctuary in Lamu, describes the troubling reality: “At the dumpsites, donkeys consume plastics, clothes and cartons. Many suffer from fatal nutritional colic.” A 2024 study by the University of Portsmouth confirmed that approximately five per cent of donkeys treated at local clinics showed serious complications from ingesting plastic.
The human consequences are just as severe. “We’re paying for plastic pollution with our lives,” says John Chweya, president of the Kenya National Waste Pickers Welfare Association. “Livestock are dying, families are losing income, and health risks from burning plastics are widespread.”
“We’re paying for plastic pollution with our lives.”
Exposure to burning plastic waste significantly contributes to respiratory illnesses and other chronic health issues, concerns echoed by health researchers.
The abrupt termination of USAID-funded waste management initiatives in 2025 has left Kenyan communities struggling. “When USAID left, projects stopped overnight,” Chweya explains. “Households returned to burning waste, leaving waste pickers without income.” This withdrawal underscored the fragility of externally supported projects, such as Canada’s prior partnership with USAID on regional plastic reduction initiatives such as the Mombasa Plastics Prize, which fostered youth-led innovation.
Despite setbacks, Kenyan organizations such as EcoPost provide effective local solutions. EcoPost has recycled more than 13 million kilograms of plastic, created more than 12,000 jobs and conserved 4,500 acres of forest by transforming plastic waste into durable construction materials. Grassroots groups including the Kenya National Waste Pickers Welfare Association also show promise, growing from 30 to more than 500 households using its waste management services.
Yet, significant barriers remain, Chweya says. “We need capacity building, trucks, land and sustained financial support. Big companies could help, but so far, they haven’t.”
Canada, recognized globally as a leader in attempts to address plastic pollution, hosted the 2024 round of the United Nations plastic treaty negotiations in Ottawa. At the following global meeting, Steven Guilbeault, then Canada’s environment minister, emphasized the need for more sustainable and global solutions. Domestically, Canada has banned several single-use plastics and initiated a registry to track plastic production and waste. However, Kenya’s experiences highlight a critical lesson: Successful policy requires robust enforcement, effective waste management infrastructure and the inclusion of marginalized voices.
Ambitious policies and international praise alone are insufficient. As the international community haltingly works on a global plastics treaty, solutions must centre on the realities faced by marginalized rural communities. Only through grounded, inclusive strategies can the full scale of plastic pollution be tackled.
Chweya puts it this way: “Ambitious bans and international praise aren’t enough if we don’t support the people doing the real work on the ground. Without enforcement, infrastructure and inclusion, the plastic crisis will only deepen.”
