{"id":7595,"date":"2020-01-20T10:39:34","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T07:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africasustainabilitymatters.com\/?p=7595"},"modified":"2026-01-11T05:30:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:30:48","slug":"kenyan-traders-turn-to-cancer-free-plastic-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/2020\/01\/20\/kenyan-traders-turn-to-cancer-free-plastic-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenyan Traders Turn To \u2018Cancer-Free\u2019 Plastic Products"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Traders of reusable plastic products have gone beyond\ndurability and fancy designs as a selling point to include non-carcinogenic\nproperties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking along the busy Tom Mboya Street on a warm evening, roadside water bottle traders scramble to win us with the same line \u2013 \u201cMy bottles are BPA-free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t develop cancer with these bottles and food\ndishes,\u201d some told us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some even proceeded to ask us to check the bottom of the\nbottles for the BPA-free label. We oblige and flip a few bottles over,\nrevealing the BPA mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BPA (bisphenol A) is an industrial chemical long used in\nmaking plastics, but which has been found to dissolve into water or food put in\na plastic container, especially when the water\/food is hot. The same applies to\nbabies\u2019 milk bottles. Recent studies indicate long\nexposure to BPA could cause cancer and brain complications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vilified chemical, BPA, has suffered the same fate as\nlead in paints, which has since been banned in most countries, and cholesterol\nin edible oils. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cancer is one of the leading killers in Kenya, claiming the\nlives of 32,000 Kenyans on average a year, with about 45,000\nnew cases reported per year, according to World Health Organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, Kenya banned use of plastic bags among shoppers in\nthe ongoing fight against pollution. Plastics are part of petrochemical\nproducts derived from oil, a fossil fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, on a sunny afternoon, we make our way to Kenyatta\nInternational Convention Centre (KICC), where there\u2019s an exhibition. Here, we\nmeet Peter, a Kenyan dealer of China-made plastic water bottles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We wonder what would prompt him to buy exhibition space,\ntopping Sh10,000, only for him to display the all-too common water bottles that\ncan be found displayed by the roadside. For a paltry Sh100 one can get a\nnice-looking water bottle on the streets, yet Peter is selling his at a minimum\nof Sh450 a piece, depending on the size and design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His\nselling point? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all BPA-free,\u201d he says proudly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young man explains that in addition to the label verification,\na buyer should always go for bottles and food dishes made of a firm, hard\nplastic material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few steps from his water bottles stall, we find yet another\ndealer in plastic drinkware, branded polysafe, imported from Australia. You\nalmost can\u2019t differentiate the plastic drinkware from glassware. They feel,\nweigh and look the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young man sporting dreadlocks saunters around to meet us.\nHis first proposition is that the products are BPA-free. Another selling point,\nhe says, is that due to high quality they\u2019re reusable with zero breakages,\nunlike glasses. This has made bars and nightclubs his top clients since the\nplastic drinkware look just as fancy as glasses and are designed for multiple\nuses including for sipping wine, cocktails and beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, and since it\u2019s widely known plastics are\nnon-biodegradable waste, the dealer says: \u201cPolycarbonate is 100 per cent\nrecyclable and has a carbon footprint almost one tenth the size of the glass\nequivalent. It uses half as much energy and creates seven times less carbon\ndioxide during its production, compared to glass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takeaway for\nconsumers <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n