The Plastic Divide: Global environmentalism and the search for life in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

On 1 June 2019 plastic bags were banned in Tanzania. The ban was driven by a global environmentalist narrative that plastic bags harm marine life and livestock; contribute to flooding events; and produce unsightly litter. Five years later, small polyethylene pouches remained integral to daily life for the majority of residents in Tanzania's biggest city, Dar es Salaam. This article introduces ‘The Plastic Divide’, between urban poor and middle/ruling class, as a way to understand the effects of the plastic bag ban in Tanzania. Although originally emerging from the Global South, blanket moves to ban plastics bring greater harm to the poorest who are most reliant on plastics, least able to access alternatives and yet remain the most adversely affected by plastic pollution. By paying attention to the material specificities of plastics however we can gain insight into how and why they have become resistant to regulation in many contexts.