Single-Use Plastic Faces Ban in Ethiopia as Draft Law Advances

The Council of Ministers has approved a draft law to ban the import and production of single-use plastic materials. The bill, now heading to Parliament for final approval, targets the replacement of plastic bags with a thickness of less than 0.03 mm.

Single-use plastics refer to items designed to be used once before disposal. This includes commonly used items like bags, bottles, wrappers, and straws, predominantly used in packaging and service ware.

According to Ethiopia’s National Plastic Waste Management Strategy and Roadmap (2024-2034), single-use plastics constituted just 3% of total solid waste in urban areas a decade ago. However, recent data indicates this figure has doubled to 6%.

Additionally, Euro-map 2022 data shows Ethiopia's per capita plastic consumption rose from 0.6 kg in 2007 to 2.6 kg in 2021.

This increase has made Ethiopia the second-largest importer of plastics in East and Central Africa, spending €17 million annually on plastic packaging imports, with 51% used in packaging and the rest in construction, electronics, and other sectors.

Ethiopia’s efforts to regulate single-use plastics date back to the Solid Waste Management Proclamation No. 513/2007, which prohibited the production, import, and use of plastic bags thinner than 0.03 mm unless they met biodegradable standards. However, enforcement has been weak. A compliance study found that 14 of 21 inspected manufacturers were producing substandard plastic bags, and most bags lacked proper labeling.

The revised draft law aims to address these enforcement gaps, mitigate the environmental impact of solid waste, and align with initiatives such as the Green Legacy and Corridor Development Project.

“This isn’t a new requirement,” said Wasyihun Alemu, Urban Waste Management Monitoring Director at the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority. According to Wasyihun, the updated law seeks to eliminate single-use plastic bags and meet Ethiopia’s goal of phasing out non-biodegradable materials. “Although regulations have existed since 2007, compliance has been low. That’s why we revised it, and we are now awaiting Parliament’s approval,” he told Shega.

Once the law is enacted, the government will provide a grace period for businesses and consumers to adapt. Afterward, enforcement will intensify in collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

Waste processors like Ashenafi Dula, co-founder and manager of Sintayew and Balcha Compost Manufacturing, welcome the proposed changes.

“It’s a great step if implemented properly,” Ashenafi stated.

He explained that single-use plastics pose significant challenges for processors like his company.

“We can neither recycle nor process these materials with the capacity available in Ethiopia. Most of the time, we burn them, which causes even more environmental harm,” he said.

Ashenafi added that recycling single-use plastics requires heavy-duty machinery capable of melting and reshaping them into products like electric conduits. However, these machines are prohibitively expensive for small businesses.

On the other hand, Yared Tewabe, CEO of Seelemaye, a plastic bag manufacturing company, believes progress is possible only if all stakeholders contribute to both production and disposal efforts. 

"It’s hard to separate daily routines from plastic bags. Paper bags just aren’t as strong," Yared told Shega. 

He added that the solution lies in producing plastic bags of the required quality while ensuring end users take responsibility for proper disposal.