A human rights organization has expressed concern over the unchecked reuse of glass bottles in the local beverage industry, warning of serious health risks to consumers due to inadequate sanitization and a lack of regulatory enforcement on proper recycling protocols.
Genesis for Human Rights Commission has faulted the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and public health authorities for failing to enforce stringent measures to adequately regulate the reuse of glass bottles, which the organization claims were being collected from unsanitary sites and reused without proper detoxification.
Speaking in Mombasa, the commission's Programme Director Caleb Ng'wena said that some bottling companies were distributing beverages in used bottles that have been retrieved from dumpsites and sewage-contaminated areas. "These bottles are being returned to shelves without undergoing any verifiable cleaning, detoxification, or sanitization process," he said. "This practice poses a serious threat to public health and undermines the public's right to safe products." Ng'wena called for immediate government intervention to address the situation, including the implementation of public audits for all bottling companies, mandatory labelling of reused bottles, and tougher penalties for non-compliance.
The organization further questioned whether the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and other relevant agencies were involved in regulating the bottling process, particularly the handling and reuse of glass containers.
