Bread manufacturers now have six months to phase out plastic packaging.
The National Environment Management Authority (Nema) has issued the grace period as part of the process of declaring a total ban on the use of plastic carrier and flat bags within a year.
The directive comes a day after a civil rights group, Haki Africa, accused the Government of selectively enforcing the ban on plastic bags by allowing some companies to continue packaging their products in plastic.
Nema Director General Geoffrey Wahungu said while there was a 100 per cent adherence to plastic bags ban, implementing the edict on flat bags, which are extensively used by small traders, was proving to be a challenge.
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Prof Wahungu was speaking on the sidelines of the recent United Nations Environmental Assembly, where he outlined the strides the country has made since effecting the plastic bags ban on August 28.
Wahungu said the new challenge after the ban concerned plastic bottles and plastic packaged food products. He said the authority had asked bread firms to phase out their current plastic packaging.
“That does not mean they come to ask us for alternatives. That is up to them," he said.
