Last Tuesday’s House of Assembly sitting saw the tabling of the Styrofoam and Plastic Food Service Containers (Prohibition) Bill, which seeks to ban the importation, manufacturing, sale, use and distribution of Styrofoam and plastic food service containers.
In introducing the Bill, MP for Dennery North Edmund Estephane explained that while there are many advantages of the products, they are not biodegradable and therefore remain in the environment after disposal. He said that the products constitute thousands of tonnes of waste each year, cause build-up in drains, litter the beaches and cause marine pollution. He says the negative environmental impacts have led the government to the adoption of various measures to eliminate their use.
A phased approach will be utilised to eliminate the use of the products. The importation of disposable trays, hinged take-away containers, bowls, cups, plates, cup lids, bowl lids and Styrofoam disposable plates will be prohibited from August 1, 2019. The importation of disposable forks, spoons, knives, straws, stirrers and egg cartons will be prohibited from August 1, 2020.
In phase 2, the manufacture, sale, use, distribution and sale of food in disposable trays, hinged take-away containers, bowls, cups, plates, cup lids, and bowl lids will be prohibited from August 1, 2020. The prohibition will apply to disposable forks, spoons, knives, straws, stirrers and egg cartons from August 1, 2021.
Any individual who commits an offence outlined under the Bill can be fined from $3,000 to $15,000. The Bill also empowers authorized officers to enter premises and seize Styrofoam and plastic food service containers that are being used contrary to the provisions. Prime Minister Allen Chastanet described the legislation as timely, and said that the impact the products have on the environment have been “long understated and misunderstood”. Referring to the garbage dumps on-island, he said that the products that are being dumped will take hundreds of years to decompose. He admits that the changes will take getting used to, and this will be the “most difficult aspect” of the process.
He pointed out that there are readily available substitutes, like replacing a plastic straw with a paper one, and going to stores with our own containers. “We have to take our environment very seriously,” said the prime minister, “and while we’re not going to be able to solve the problem by ourselves, I am extremely encouraged by the movement that’s taking place throughout the length and breadth of the world; of countries that are moving very quickly in order to implement the same legislation. And I would like to think that the Caribbean is going to be one of the leaders in that and that Saint Lucia will play its role.”–
