Kenya has taken a decisive step in its fight against plastic pollution, with the government and the Kenya Plastics Pact jointly launching the ‘NO SUP USE’ campaign in 2025. The nationwide initiative targets the country’s hospitality and tourism sector — including hotels, restaurants and visitor facilities — calling on businesses to phase out problematic single-use plastics entirely by 2030. The campaign marks a renewed and more focused push by Kenyan authorities to close persistent enforcement gaps and accelerate progress towards a cleaner, plastic-free environment across one of the economy’s most visible sectors.

The ‘NO SUP USE’ campaign specifically identifies a range of plastic items that hospitality businesses must commit to eliminating, among them polystyrene food packaging, plastic drinking straws, disposable cutlery and single-use plastic bottles. The Kenya Plastics Pact — a multi-stakeholder platform bringing together national government agencies, the private sector and civil society organisations — is coordinating the rollout and providing participating businesses with practical guidance on sustainable alternatives. Hotels and tourism facilities that join the initiative are expected to meet phased reduction targets, with full elimination of the listed plastic products required before the 2030 deadline.

Kenya has long positioned itself as a continental leader on plastic regulation. The country’s 2017 ban on plastic carrier bags was among the strictest ever introduced anywhere in the world, imposing fines of up to Ksh 4 million or four years’ imprisonment for offenders. The legislation drew international attention and was initially credited with a dramatic reduction in plastic litter across Nairobi’s streets, coastal beaches and sensitive wildlife areas. The 2017 ban remains one of the most widely cited examples of bold environmental policymaking in Africa, frequently held up as a model for other nations grappling with the same challenge. However, sustained enforcement has proved difficult in the years since, and the volume of plastic waste has gradually risen again.

A troubling picture emerged from a 2024 report by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), which found that 35 percent of plastic bags currently in circulation within Kenya had been illegally smuggled across the borders from Uganda and Tanzania. Cross-border trafficking of banned plastic products has steadily eroded the gains achieved under the 2017 legislation, frustrating both regulators and environmental advocates. The findings underlined the urgency of stronger regional cooperation to prevent Kenya from becoming a destination for plastic products that are prohibited under its own laws.

The ‘NO SUP USE’ campaign is widely viewed as a complementary effort to address the domestic demand side of the plastic problem — particularly within a hospitality industry that directly serves millions of local and international tourists each year. Environmental groups broadly welcome the initiative but caution that corporate pledges alone will not be sufficient. Sustained government inspections, affordable eco-friendly alternatives for smaller hospitality businesses and targeted public awareness efforts will all be essential to the campaign’s long-term success. With Kenya’s 2030 deadline still years away, advocates stress that the pace of near-term action will determine whether this initiative delivers lasting change or joins a long list of environmental commitments that have fallen short on implementation.