When I was just six years old, one of my grandfather's cows died from consuming a plastic bag. It was a tragedy that robbed our family of income and food. In those days, our neighborhood also faced flooded roads due to plastic waste clogging drains, but there were no policies to address the issue.

Over the past 15 years, I have witnessed Rwanda’s transformation from a plastics wasteland to a global leader in ending plastics pollution. I am not alone — millions of citizens have been part of this journey. It serves as a powerful testament to the transformative potential of visionary leadership, strong policies, community engagement, and infrastructure investment. And it is evident to every visitor to our country.

Recently, when a friend from Zambia went through customs at Kigali’s international airport, she was advised to remove the plastic encasing her luggage as it was not allowed in the country. Although surprised, she was also grateful for this explicit direction. Unlike Rwanda, Zambia has yet to rigorously enforce its plastics ban, and widescale plastics pollution persists.

This is true for much of the world, which produces approximately 400 million metric tons of plastic waste every year, with only 9% of it recycled. Furthermore, an estimated 10 million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean each year. Indeed, our watersheds have become plastic sheds, as streams and rivers transport plastic waste to the seas. It is a global environmental crisis that threatens our ecosystems, wildlife, and human health.

This World Environment Day, as international attention is focused on solutions to this plastics crisis, Rwanda has valuable lessons to share, for both governments and ordinary citizens, who are ultimately responsible for turning the tide on plastic. In my own lifetime, I have seen enormous changes as the country has come to grips with a problem that was polluting our agricultural soil, clogging wetlands, and harming wildlife.

In 2008, the government banned single-use plastic bags, becoming one of the first countries in the world to do so. The law covered the production, importation, sale, and use of these plastics. The ban was expanded in 2019 through a law forbidding the use and sale of single-use plastic like bottles, straws, plates, and forks.

Rwanda’s success has been based on four things:

Political will: These laws reflect the government’s commitment to improving Rwanda’s environment and the well-being of its people. And while there is a lot left to accomplish, ongoing implementation assures steady progress.

Empowering Communities and Raising Awareness The government launched extensive public awareness campaigns about the environmental and health consequences of plastic pollution. This knowledge fostered a sense of responsibility and ownership among people, inspiring behavioral changes, and sustainable practices. For example, since 2008, communities organized monthly plastic collection events and citizens have ceased littering plastics, disposing of them instead in the public dustbins provided by city governments.

Innovations in alternatives and infrastructure: The ban did more than prohibit, it also stimulated the development and adoption of alternative materials that are eco-friendly and biodegradable, including those made of paper, bamboo, and cloth. It is also transforming plastic waste into a valuable product, including fabrics and building materials. Furthermore, Rwanda has invested heavily in recycling and waste management. It has established eight recycling facilities and partnered with the private sector and local communities to ensure the proper collection, sorting, and processing of plastic waste. By embracing circular economy models, Rwanda is transforming plastic waste into a valuable resource, used to create fabrics, building materials, hexagonal roadblocks, and other products.

Regional and global collaboration Rwanda has collaborated widely to end plastics pollution. Its influence is seen in East Africa: Kenya followed Rwanda's lead and implemented its own tough ban on plastic bags in 2017. Tanzania and Uganda have also initiated measures to curb plastic pollution. In 2022, Rwanda and Peru co-sponsored a resolution that was adopted by the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environmental Assembly. It paves the way for the creation of a binding international agreement aimed at ending plastic pollution.

Now, I'm glad to be in a country committed to ending single-use plastics. To create a sustainable future, the world can learn from Rwanda's model of comprehensive bans, alternative materials, robust recycling infrastructure, and public awareness campaigns. By embracing innovation, empowering communities, and fostering global collaboration, we can build a cleaner, greener world for generations to come, following Rwanda's lead.

Bernardin Uzayisaba leads the Sustainable Growth team at UNDP Rwanda and is an expert on environmental sustainability and climate solutions.