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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
Single-use plastic (SUP) pollution has emerged as a major sustainability and environmental-governance challenge in developing and institutionally fragile regions characterized by weak waste-management systems, uneven enforcement capacity, and fragmented regional coordination. This paper examines the regulation of SUPs in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states as a case of regional environmental governance in contexts of institutional diversity and limited regulatory capacity. Using a structured doctrinal and comparative legal-analysis methodology, the study evaluates formally enacted national and selected subnational legal and policy instruments through the framework of international environmental law principles, particularly prevention, precaution, polluter-pays, cooperation, and life-cycle governance. The findings reveal substantial divergence in plastics governance across the region. Some countries, including Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia, rely primarily on direct bans and preventive restrictions, while others regulate plastics indirectly through broader environmental and waste-management frameworks. Kenya demonstrates the region’s most integrated governance model through preventive regulation, extended producer responsibility (EPR), recycling obligations, and circular-economy measures, whereas responsibility-based governance remains weak across much of the region. The study further shows that fragmented legal systems, weak enforcement capacity, limited recycling infrastructure, and insufficient regional coordination continue to undermine effective plastics governance in IGAD. From a sustainability-law perspective, the paper demonstrates how fragmented institutional environments and uneven governance capacities shape plastics governance in underexamined, fragile regional contexts. It concludes that progressive regional harmonization integrating prevention, producer responsibility, recycling systems, lifecycle governance, and transboundary cooperation offers the most viable pathway toward sustainable plastics governance in the IGAD region while contributing to discussions concerning SDGs 12, 13, 14, 16, and 17. The findings further suggest that IGAD institutions and member-state governments should strengthen extended producer responsibility frameworks, invest in recycling and waste-management infrastructure, enhance enforcement capacity, and promote coordinated regional policies to support a transition toward a circular economy and reduce transboundary plastic pollution.
More Papers Like This
A Regional Response to the Global Challenge of Single-Use Plastic Pollution: Regulatory Frameworks in IGAD Countries
AI summary Read the abstract
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.
Review: Plastic waste management in the Horn of Africa: A comparative evaluation of policies, practices, challenges and future directions
AI summary Read the abstract
This review paper compares how four East African countries (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti) are handling plastic waste, finding big gaps in enforcement, infrastructure, and coordination across the region. This matters because poorly managed plastic waste often ends up burned or dumped, breaking down into microplastics that can contaminate food, water, and air—posing long-term health risks to people living in these communities. The study suggests that stronger, more unified policies across the region could reduce this pollution and the health hazards that come with it.
Review: Plastic waste management in the Horn of Africa: A comparative evaluation of policies, practices, challenges and future directions
AI summary Read the abstract
This review compares how four East African countries (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti) handle plastic waste, finding that weak enforcement, poor infrastructure, and disorganized government policies allow plastic pollution to pile up, especially in rural areas. This matters for your health because poorly managed plastic waste often gets burned or dumped, breaking down into microplastics and toxic chemicals that can contaminate drinking water, soil, and the food chain. The study suggests that stronger, more coordinated policies across the region could help curb this pollution before it reaches people.
Author comment: Plastic waste management in the Horn of Africa: A comparative evaluation of policies, practices, challenges and future directions — R1/PR6
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Plastic waste is piling up across Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti faster than these countries can manage it, and this study compares how each nation is tackling the problem — finding that weak enforcement, patchy infrastructure, and disconnected government efforts are letting plastic pollution slip through the cracks, especially outside major cities. This matters for your health because poorly managed plastic waste often gets burned or dumped, breaking down into microplastics and toxic chemicals that can contaminate drinking water, food, and air; the researchers argue that stronger, better-coordinated policies across the region could help
Review: Plastic waste management in the Horn of Africa: A comparative evaluation of policies, practices, challenges and future directions — R0/PR2
AI summary Read the abstract
This review paper compares how four Horn of Africa countries—Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti—handle plastic waste, finding that weak enforcement, poor infrastructure, and disconnected government efforts are letting plastic pollution pile up, especially in rural areas. This matters because unmanaged plastic waste often gets burned or dumped, breaking down into microplastics that can contaminate water, food, and air—posing long-term health risks to nearby communities. The authors argue that stronger, better-coordinated policies across the region could reduce this pollution and protect public health.
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