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Kinyarwanda
Police in Gatsibo District, on Monday, arrested two men with 226 cartons of outlawed polythene bags, which were sneaked into the country through an illegal border in Nyagatare District.
David Kamutima (driver) and Jean Bosco Manirakiza were at the time trafficking the non-biodegradable plastic bags in a vehicle RAA 024I when it was intercepted in Kabarore along Gatsibo-Kayonza highway.
According to Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Hamdun Twizeyimana, the police spokesperson for the Eastern region, the vehicle was impounded at a Police checkpoint mounted in Bihinga village of Kabarore sector.
"Police officers while on their routine duties, stopped the vehicle, searched it and recovered the 226 stashed in the car trunk. They were trafficking them to Kayonza," CIP Twizeyimana said.
Rwanda has maintained its name in the global environmental records for successfully managing and abolishing the use of polythene bags said to be a threat to the ecosystem.
“Sell and use of plastic bags is illegal and punishable by law. They pose a threat to the ecosystem and the public is advised against using or selling polythene bags and report those who traffic or sell them," the spokesperson said.
Experts say that polythene bags contribute to flooding and prevent crops from growing because rainwater can’t penetrate the soil when it is littered with plastics.
Use of plastic bags in Rwanda was prohibited in 2008. From then, several mechanisms including legal provisions against producers, sellers, and users of plastic bags, have been adopted.
“There is a zero-tolerance policy on the use of polythene bags in Rwanda. Anyone found in such unlawful acts will be arrested to face the law, but people are advised to use other alternative packaging bags that are eco-friendly,” he advised.
