Botswana has joined the movement in Africa to become more environmentally friendly with a ban on plastic bags being implemented as of 01 November 2018.

10 African Countries have now banned single use plastic bags, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Botswana. South Africa imposed a levy on plastic bags in 2004 but they have not yet been banned.

Whilst the plastic ban in each of these countries is targeting retail shops and commercial manufacturers, it is important as guests visiting these countries also adhere by their laws. Hence, we strongly recommend guests do not travel with any plastic bags.

Essentially the ban means:

No plastic bags packed in both your hand luggage and checked-in luggage,
No duty free bags to be brought on your arrival
All kinds of plastic bags, basically!!
It is possible, your luggage may be searched on arrival and any kind of single use shopping bag or Ziploc bags will be taken away, so as advised, it is best not to travel with any plastic bags at all.

With our regular travels to/from Africa we have done a bit of research and tried out a few different plastic bag options, including the following:

Velcro® Brand Press-Lok® Bags
Clear Pockets
Go To Bags
Blue Avocado
It is very encouraging to see these plastic bags coming into place, as it is another step towards protecting our precious environment, and its wildlife.