An interesting transition from single use plastics to single use bioplastics, to reusable plastics in a couple of years, apparently impelled by an economic instrument.

Kenya‘‘s biggest supermarket retailer, Nakumatt Holdings, is to launch a reusable carrier bag, following a Government move to levy 120 per cent excise duty on plastics in the Budget.

Business Daily Africa reports that the new re-usable carrier bag to be available at all 18 Nakumatt stores will reduce plastic packaging. According to Nakumatt‘‘s Operations Director, Thiagarajan Ramamurthy, the carriers will be durable and reusable and available to shoppers for free at first. But he added that consumers would later be charged a "nominal fee" for replacements.

Nakumatt currently uses more than 50 million biodegradable plastic bags a year. The company shifted away from the less eco-friendly non-biodegradable plastic bags in 2005.

The introduction of the new bags is part of a bid by the supermarket chain to move shoppers towards using a single, re-usable bag, rather than the conventional plastic types.

"At Nakumatt, our corporate obligations commit us to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner and the introduction of these reusable bags is a deliberate attempt to significantly cut on plastic packaging, " Mr Ramamurthy said.