First Ever ‘No-Plastic No-Styrofoam Kids Summer Camp’ Begins

In March, Cabinet approved a proposal to phase out single-use plastic shopping bags, styrofoam and plastic food utensils by April 2019. The goal is to reduce plastic and styrofoam pollution. For this to happen, a cultural change needs to be achieved since almost everyone in Belize uses plastic and styrofoam materials. A camp which began on Monday in Bullet Tree Village, is seeking to change the behaviors of fifty children between the ages of five and sixteen years. The unique ‘No-Plastic No-Styrofoam Kids Summer Camp’ was organized by Doctor Anita Tzec, who says that children will be made aware of the importance of keeping the environment free of plastic and styrofoam.

Dr. Anita Tzec, Organizer

Dr. Anita Tzec

 “This camp was open to fifty children, ages five to fifteen year old, and their parents. We wished we could have included all the children of our village but we lack enough finances and human resources for such a venture. Why are we doing this? Because we strongly believe that phasing out of single used plastic and Styrofoam is the responsible of each of us because we are the one who use. We also know we need to start making these personal small changes from out homes.”

Dr. Omar Figueroa

Dr. Omar Figueroa, Minister of State, Ministry of Environment

 “What you are about to embarked on for about three weeks will actually set the stage to make sure that in Bullet Tree Falls we are one step ahead from the rest of the country in ensuring that plastic and Styrofoam are not part of this beautiful village. Last night we had some torrential rains. You walk around San Ignacio and you see a lot of plastic down the drains. Where do you think these all end up? They stay for fifty, sixty, seventy years down in our rivers. They make their way to our oceans. Studies have now shown that in the next forty and fifty years, there will be more plastic in our oceans than fishes. And as these plastics are broken down, fishes start to consume them. Eventually they find their way into our system. We end up buying fish. We end up eating fish and that is how we start propagating these diseases.”

The camp comes to an end on July twenty-ninth.