Tanzania plastic bags ban:

Effective from June 1, the Tanzanian government is banning the use of the plastic bags!

Following the neighboring East African countries of Kenya and Rwanda, the Tanzanian government has announced a ban on plastic bags to protect the environment and improve the management of plastic waste. Effective from June 1, all sorts of plastic carrier bags will be prohibited from being imported, exported, manufactured, sold, supplied and used in Tanzania regardless of their sizes.

As a supporter of Tanzania wildlife conservation and protection, Wito Africa Safaris is very thrilled by this announcement. It is hard to live in a polluted planet where plastics have a direct and lethal effect on wildlife and environment.

Research indicates that an average of one hundred thousand marine wildlife are killed by plastic bags annually with thousands of seabirds, sea turtles and seals killed each year after eating plastic or getting caught in plastic litter.

The study shows that up to 80 percent of ocean plastic pollution enters the ocean from land. Did you know it takes five centuries (500 years) or more for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill?

 

Learn how to travel to Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya plastic bags free!

To effectively implement this ban, there will be some strict penalties for plastic bag use whereby the convicted offenders of plastic carrier bags including manufactures, suppliers and even users such as tourists, can face very heavy fines, imprisonment for up to two years, or both.

With that said, our Wito Africa safari specialists will help to ensure that you are travelling plastic bag free to Tanzania by keeping you updated with the right information on the ban. In light of this, we urge all our guests and other tourists to avoid packing any plastic carrier bags in their suitcases or in carry-on hand luggage before flying to Tanzania. Easy to forget but all duty-free items purchased at the airport before boarding the aircraft should be removed from plastic bags. Please check hand luggage before leaving the plane and ask the airline to recycle any plastic bags that you may have before proceeding to your point of entry in Tanzania.

According to the government, the exemption will only be made for plastic or plastic packaging for medical services, sanitary and waste management, agricultural sector and food processing, construction and industrial products.

To allow a seamless transition for everyone arriving in Tanzania on June 1, the government will set up a special customer “plastic bag-free” desk at all points of entry to confiscate all plastic carrier items that visitors may have brought into the country.

Planning an African safari to Tanzania? More than just our passion, Tanzania is our beautiful home. We create luxury bespoke holidays, private wilderness safaris and Kilimanjaro group tours, honeymoon destinations, family vacation tours to Africa and beyond. Email or call us at +1.315.805.4040 to speak with our Tanzania safari experts today!