Uganda's environmental agency has announced new penalties for polluters, including fines on motorists driving cars without dustbins. The new measures will come into effect on April 1.
The agency published a new penalty scheme according to which littering from cars or driving a car without a trash bin will attract a maximum fine of up to six million Ugandan shillings ($1,630).
Offenders who refuse to pay will be subjected to prosecution and imprisonment or a fine determined by a court, the agency added.
As of now, only passenger buses in Uganda that travel over long distances are obligated to have dustbins. The new requirement for trash bins in cars has drawn the attention of many drivers, who questioned whether there is a specific standard of what can be considered a bin.
The agency's spokesperson stated that a plastic bag can't be used as a bin, while the definition of what counts as a trash bin will be presented in the next amendment.
"As long as you are using something that is not prohibited to hold your rubbish, you should be fine. Plastic bags are prohibited," agency spokeswoman Naomi Karekaho told media.
The agency's penalty scheme includes a wide range of environmental breaches such as littering from commercial buildings, disposing of waste on a roadside, and throwing trash in a river, stream, lake or channel.
A greater fine of up to 100 million Ugandan shillings will be imposed for importing, exporting, manufacturing, using or reusing plastic bags or plastic products made of polymers of ethane and propylene that are below 30 microns.