Niamey is moving to enforce a long-ignored ban on plastic carrier bags, launching one of the region’s toughest crackdowns on everyday plastic waste. Supermarkets and retailers in Niger’s capital have been given six months to clear their shelves of plastic bags or face stiff penalties.

The measure revives a law adopted years ago that outlawed the manufacture, import, sale and use of thin plastic bags. Despite the legislation, the bags remained ubiquitous in markets, roadside stalls and household rubbish, clogging drains, littering fields and contributing to the deaths of livestock that ingest them while grazing.

City officials say that tolerance has now run out. By early 2027, all remaining stocks of plastic carrier bags must be sold off or destroyed. After that deadline, any involvement with the bags will be illegal, from factory production to handing one over at a checkout counter.

The authorities are promoting a shift to biodegradable or reusable containers, paper packaging and traditional woven baskets. Local cooperatives and small businesses are being encouraged to scale up production of alternatives, with environmental groups arguing that the transition could create new jobs in recycling and artisanal manufacturing.

The penalties are designed to send a clear signal. Those caught producing or importing plastic bags face between six months and a year in prison. Shopkeepers and wholesalers who continue to distribute them risk three to six months behind bars. Households found using the bags can be fined 100 francs per item, a sum that could quickly add up for families that ignore the rules.

Environmental campaigners in Niger have long warned that plastic pollution is worsening flooding in Niamey by blocking drainage channels during the rainy season. In rural areas, herders complain of animals dying after swallowing discarded bags, while farmers report that plastic fragments are increasingly embedded in their soils.

Niamey’s renewed push places Niger among a growing number of African countries tightening controls on single-use plastics. Nigeria, for example, has moved to ban items such as straws, cutlery, plastic bottles and water sachets in government institutions, part of a broader regional effort to curb plastic waste before it overwhelms fragile urban infrastructure and ecosystems.