{"id":18679,"date":"2025-11-16T12:09:55","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T12:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/?p=18679"},"modified":"2025-11-16T12:11:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T12:11:06","slug":"kenya-urged-to-embrace-refill-and-reuse-to-cut-single-use-plastic-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/?p=18679","title":{"rendered":"KENYA URGED TO EMBRACE REFILL AND REUSE TO CUT SINGLE-USE PLASTIC POLLUTION"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By A.Kubai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nairobi, Kenya \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government of Kenya has been urged to set ambitious refill and reuse targets to reduce damaging single-use plastics and transition toward sustainable packaging systems that protect the environment while generating economic opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call came during the launch of the inaugural Refill and Reuse Festival at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi. Hellen Kahaso Dena, Project Lead for the Pan African Plastics Project at Greenpeace Africa, emphasized that enhancing refill and reuse models can create jobs while reducing the hidden costs of plastic pollution, which burden governments and taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Refill and reuse systems are not new to Africa. They are rooted in our culture and have existed since time immemorial. What is new is the invasion of single-use plastics pushed by corporations prioritising profit over people and planet. Governments must invest in refill infrastructure and set clear targets that make reuse the norm, not the exception,” said Dena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added: “Throwaway culture is expensive. Countries spend billions of dollars to clean drainage systems, build incinerators, clean rivers, and cover health expenses linked to plastic pollution.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two-day festival brings together local communities, civil society organisations, policymakers, manufacturers, and innovators to showcase refill and reuse solutions available in Kenya. It also provides a platform for policy discussions on opportunities and challenges in mainstreaming sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerance Mutwol, Plastics Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, said:
“Recycling is a distraction that allows corporations to keep producing more plastic while shifting responsibility to consumers and governments. Plastics persist in the environment throughout their lifecycle, leaching harmful chemicals into our soil, water, and bodies. Refill and reuse systems prevent plastic pollution at the source. They conserve resources, create jobs, and protect public health. This is an environmental imperative and economic opportunity that governments can no longer ignore.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival, themed “Experience, Refill, Reuse: A Sustainable Lifestyle for All,” invites families, schools, artists, and innovators to participate in hands-on refill stations, zero-waste exhibitions, and children\u2019s upcycling art competitions. The second day will feature live music, poetry sessions, storytelling circles, and an interactive refill challenge with prizes for participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizers highlight that the festival is designed to make sustainability accessible and engaging, showing that alternatives to the throwaway plastic culture are practical, affordable, and aligned with African values of community and resourcefulness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By A.Kubai. Nairobi, Kenya \u2013 The Government of Kenya has been urged to set ambitious refill and reuse targets to reduce damaging single-use plastics and transition toward sustainable packaging systems that protect the environment while generating economic opportunities. The call came during the launch of the inaugural Refill and Reuse Festival at the National Museums …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18679"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18684,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18679\/revisions\/18684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}