Oil companies accused of wanting to dump plastics in Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The oil industry has asked the United States to pressure Kenya to change its world-leading stance against the plastic waste that litters Africa, according to environmentalists who fear the continent will be used as a dumping ground.

The request from the American Chemistry Council, whose members include major oil companies, to the Office of the United States Trade Representative came as the US and Kenya negotiate what would be the first US bilateral trade deal with a country in sub-Saharan Africa.

That deal is expected to be a model for others in Africa, and its importance helped lead to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s White House visit with President Donald Trump this year — a rarity for an African leader during this administration.

Kenya three years ago imposed what was praised as the world’s strictest ban on the use, manufacturing and import of plastic bags, part of growing efforts around the world to limit a major source of plastic waste. Environmentalists fear Kenya is now under pressure not only to weaken its resolve but to become a key transit point for plastic waste to other African countries.

The April 28 letter from the American Chemistry Council’s director for international trade, Ed Brzytwa, seen by The Associated Press, urges the US and Kenya to prohibit the imposition of domestic limits on “production or consumption of chemicals and plastic” and on their cross-border trade.

“We anticipate that Kenya could serve in the future as a hub for supplying US-made chemicals and plastics to other markets in Africa,” the letter says.

It was first obtained by Unearthed, an affiliate of the Greenpeace environmental organisation.

The council repeated its request in a public commenting session in June.

China’s ban on imports of most plastic waste in 2018 has forced companies to seek new places to send it, but other countries including African ones increasingly are saying they don’t want it, either. Plastic waste meant for recycling has piled up in dumps in Kenyan cities.

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