Government is cracking down on importers and manufacturers who are still flouting the ban on petroleum-based, single-use plastic, Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy, Kirk Humphrey has declared.
The Minister is concerned that some products which are being marketed as environmentally safe, do not meet the standard required by the Control of Disposal Plastics Act 2019.
Now, in addition to his repeated warnings, Humphrey has declared that he wants to double existing fines from $50,000 to $100,000.
He also will not entertain requests from the local manufacturing industry for an extension to the April 1 deadline on single-use petro-based plastic bags which was supposed to take effect at the start of the year.
The Maritime Affairs Minister made the disclosures during a site visit at Cot Holdings Limited, a printing and packaging manufacturer located at Newton, Christ Church.
“If you have violated the legislation, there are penalties associated with that and we intend to enforce those penalties. In fact, I am now recommending to the cabinet that we should move the penalty from $50,000 to $100,000. I could only hope the cabinet agrees. That should reinforce the seriousness with which we are taking this matter,” Humphrey announced on Friday.
While acknowledging that for the most part stakeholders have attempted to comply, Minister Humphrey revealed he had reason to believe some of the materials, which claim to be environmentally safe, do not meet the standards of the Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI), the organisation charged with testing the products.
He then disclosed that new amendments to the existing legislation would be made before April, clearly outlining the specific categories of acceptable containers.
“We obviously have to test and once we are clear that indeed these products contain polyethylene or any of these products that we have banned, we will go forward and apply the law as the law allows us to apply it,” he added.
On July 1 last year, Government instituted a ban on all petro-based, single-use plastics and polystyrene containers. While petro-based plastic bags were initially supposed to be banned on January 1, 2020 manufacturers were given until April 1 to comply.
Humphrey said he is particularly happy with the compliance of plastic bag manufacturers who are changing their materials. This is because the likelihood of a further extension is very slim.
“I’ve seen the average Barbadian move from generally not understanding and not supporting to being very supportive of the need to implement this. I think people understand that there is a deeper practical purpose that we have to be able to protect the environment, the ocean and Barbados, above all, we must stand for something,” Humphrey added.
COT Holdings Limited, which provides food containers for a number of leading fast food brands is among the local companies that have started manufacturing alternative plastic products and is currently in discussions with the Government of Belize on plans to export their products to that nation.
But in addition to the existing bans imposed by the Mia Mottley-administrion, Executive Director Nigel Worme wants to see a National effort towards sorting refuse and recycling it in every household.
“We have got to get a national programme going that encourages every Barbadian household to sort their garbage, separate the paper from the plastic, from glasses and from the tins,” he suggested.
“That would allow us to get the right products into the recycling facilities, into composting facilities where they can be managed under proper heat and wind conditions so that you can actually break products down that bring nutrients back into the earth and then can start going into all of the garden beds, farms and so on,” he said.
kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb
