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A Regional Response to the Global Challenge of Single-Use Plastic Pollution: Regulatory Frameworks in IGAD Countries
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Researchers analyzed single-use plastic regulations across member states of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in East Africa, finding that while most countries have enacted some form of ban or waste legislation, extended producer responsibility schemes remain nascent and regional harmonization is the most pragmatic path toward effective enforcement.
The issue of single-use plastic (SUP) waste is a recent sustainability challenge in developing and fragile regions with varying capacities for waste management, enforcement, and regional governance. This paper examines the regulation of SUPs in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states as an example of regional environmental governance in contexts of weak institutions. The paper provides a structured qualitative legal analysis of formally enacted legislative and policy measures. It assesses the extent to which national (and some subnational) legal responses comply with key principles of international environmental law, including prevention, the polluter-pays principle, and cooperation. The findings show that the legal responses to SUPs in IGAD are developing, but differ in scope, legal form, consistency, and effectiveness. Some countries employ direct bans, while others regulate plastics through their general environmental and waste management legislation. Prevention measures are prominent, but responsibility management measures (such as extended producer responsibility) are in their infancy, with Kenya, and to a lesser extent Uganda, showing more integrated systems. The paper links the regulation of SUPs to sustainable consumption and production, climate change, marine protection, effective institutions and partnerships, and informs discussions about SDGs 12, 13, 14, 16, and 17. The paper concludes that the most pragmatic way forward for IGAD is progressive regional harmonization, with enhanced common standards, monitoring, producer responsibility, and transboundary cooperation, rather than immediate legal convergence.
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A Regional Response to the Global Challenge of Single-Use Plastic Pollution: Regulatory Frameworks in IGAD Countries
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This study looked at how East African countries (like Kenya, Somalia, and Djibouti) are handling the flood of single-use plastic waste, and found their approaches are a patchwork — some just ban plastics outright, while others, like Kenya, have more complete systems that also make manufacturers responsible for recycling their products. This matters because weak or inconsistent plastic rules mean more plastic waste ends up in the environment, breaking down into microplastics that can contaminate water, food, and eventually end up in our bodies — so the researchers argue these countries need to work together on stronger, more unified plastic laws to actually cut down poll
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.