Back in the 80's, we had no supermarkets in Mombasa, at least not where I lived. I'm sure it was the same in most other towns in Kenya. We had mini-grocers; small convenient stores mostly run by Arabs and Indians. I remember two shops in our area called "Tudor Mini-Grocers" and "Riyadh International" (I didn't even know Riyadh was some place in the middle east). The shop was such that, you stood by the counter while the shopkeeper fetched the items for you. In a big shop, he would even use a ladder or have his assistant fetch the stuff while he punched the prices on his CASIO calculator, then turn it round so you'd see the total and settle immediately or sign for later payment. All the shopping was packed in brown paper bags and a few wrapped up in old newspaper.
Back in the 80's, our garbage was collected by the municipal council trucks. We didn't use bin liners, just simply disposed of our kitchen waste in a large communal aluminium bin, twice or three times a week. We didn't pay for trash collection nor did we have to pay for the use of the bin, which was replaced when it got too rusty. There was no use for plastic garbage bags. They just emptied the loaded bins straight onto their trucks and drove away without creating a mess as they headed for the dumpsite at Kibarani.
Back in the 80's, bread was packed in wax paper. I can still remember the sweet aroma of Seifee's bread, the dark crust atop the soft white fluffy bread. Did I mention that it was sliced bread? Some days on my way home from school, I would alight from the matatu one stop earlier, at Stage ya Kanisani (I later learnt that it was a convent not a church), just so I could buy some bhajia or viazi karai from the old indian lady outside her gate. She wrapped them in pages from the directory. You'd have to eat the viazi quickly before the ukwaju sauce soaked up the paper. I remember licking that paper...
August 28th isn't that far. I suggest you start taking on the challenge and avoid using plastic bags today. Carry a tote bag to the supermarket or a basket when shopping at the neighbourhood duka, and don't allow vendors to pack any fruits in nylon bags. Avoid milk that's packaged in plastic and get fresh bread from the supermarket bakery. Line your kitchen bins with newspaper at the bottom and prepare a bigger bin outside or in your kitchen balcony, as your own private dumpster to be emptied into the garbage truck on collection day.
So will I miss the plastic bag? Nope. I want to go back to the 80's when the only unsightly plastic things in the home were old buckets and basins. But why is the ban only on plastic bags? Is that really the only environmental threat? Why not include a ban on plastic bottles, plastic disposable take out dishes and cutlery, plastic drinking straws, plastic packaging, plastic fingernails, plastic hair, plastic surgery, plastic smiles...
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