Community Perceptions on the Ramifications of Mono-use Plastic Shopping Bags and Bottles Consumption on the Environment in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

Tanzania, as it is the case for many countries in the world, is suffering from increased mono-use plastic
shopping bags and bottles besieged into the environment. This article explores the social perceptions of monouse
plastic shopping bags and bottles consumptions and the potential that those perceptions offer in mitigating
the negative environmental impacts associated with their use. The article is a result of a mixed method
research design that mainly relied on interviews, focus group discussion and household survey with
Morogoro inhabitants. The fundamental argument of this article is that local communities in Morogoro
Municipal Council perceive excessive use of mono-use plastic shopping bags and bottles negatively due to
their dilapidating environmental impacts. As such, they recommend environmentally friendly choices like
greater use of multi-use plastic shopping bags and bottles to substitute excessive use of mono-use plastic
shopping bags and bottles for curbing the environmental impacts. Equally, restrictions on usage of mono-use
plastic shopping bags coupled with voluntary actions aimed at reducing the same were deemed vital for
sustaining negative effects of said plastic materials in and on the environment.