The country where plastic bags are banned

The ban on the use of plastic bags has been put into effect in Kenya.

Anyone selling, producing or carrying plastic bags can face fines of up to $38,000 or prison sentences of up to four years.

The government says the stop will help protect the environment.

The plastic bags pose the biggest challenge of managing solid waste in Kenya. This has become our environmental nightmare that we must overcome at any cost”, Environment Minister Judy Wakung told the BBC.

Bag producers have warned they would lose 80 thousand jobs.

According to estimates, Kenyans have used some 24 million plastic bags a month.

Several other African countries have also banned them, including Rwanda, Mauritania, and Eritrene.