![[Kenya] Government and CocaCola subsidiary to discuss fate of plastic bottles](Images/2018/plastic bottles.jpg)
[Kenya] Government and CocaCola subsidiary to discuss fate of plastic bottles
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry and members of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) will this week host a public forum on Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used to make make soda and water bottles. It is also used to package food, beverages and pharmaceutical products.
After the plastic carrier bags were banned in Kenya, the then Environment Principal Secretary Charles Sunkuli openly differed with the environment regulator on the fate of water bottle plastics.
National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) had announced that it will phase out the plastic bottles used by the multinational soda and water bottler. Mr Sunkuli overruled NEMA.
CocaCola would have been the most adversely affected if the company was compelled to revert to re-fillable glass bottles. Under the auspices of KAM, Coca-Cola and other affected companies approached government for an alternative process that would allow plastic bottles to remain, on condition that they could re-use and manage the waste. A framework of Cooperation, whose details are unavailable, was later signed with the Ministry.
It is then that a subsidiary PETCO was formed and as a way of securing stakeholders buy-in, the first National Polyethylene terephthalate forum on ''Strengthening the PET Value Chain in Kenya for a Clean and Healthy Environment'' will be held.
Key stakeholders targeted at the forum will include manufacturers, consumer bodies, waste collectors and re-cyclers.
