| dc.description.abstract | Plastic paper bags litter is a major environmental and public health problem, particularly in the urban
and peri-urban areas of Kenya. Due to the many problems caused by plastic litter the main objective of
the study was to establish on the social - economic hazards occasioned by plastic bags litter in periurban
centres of Kenya. The research adopted a descriptive research design .This approach allowed the
researcher to gather information, summarize, present and interpret it for the purpose of clarification.
The study used questionnaires to collect empirical data from the obtained sample size. Each item in the
questionnaire was developed to address a specific objective and research questions. The analysis was
done as per questionnaires that were used to collect data and the results presented in tables and figures
to highlight the major findings. They are also presented sequentially according to the research questions
of the study.
The study found out that the condition of plastic paper bag littering has gone from bad to worse due to
unchecked littering. Besides visual pollution, plastic paper bag litter is non-biogradable and thus
accumulates. Its disposal method is a challenge as plastic paper bag waste recycling is not economically
viable. Plastic paper bag litter contributes to blockage of sewers and drainages, poses threat to biotic
species and abiotic components when incinerated, buried or damped.
Furthermore, when filled with rainwater, plastic paper bags litter become breeding grounds for
mosquitoes, which cause malaria. In landfills, it acts as a habitat for vectors that transmits pathogens
like flies and rodents. There is no immediate alternative paper bag that is likely to replace plastic paper
bag in the near future. Due to the enormous environmental problems caused by the plastic paper bags
litter, the study recommended that immediate public awareness be made to the consumers on the
hazards that are occasioned by the plastic paper bags. Other strategies to curb the behavior of
litterlouting include the reduction in manufacturing of plastic paper bag, re-use, recycling and
recollection of the plastic paper bag litter. Other measures to curb the behavior of plastic paper bag
litter are, establishment of litter collection points in strategic litter generating points, imposing stiff
penalties to litter- louters, imposing a tax on any plastic paper bag produced and putting a place
mechanisms and processes of plastic paper bag collection at county levels | en_US |
