Belize Network of N.G.O.s Lauds Single Use Plastic Ban!
Senator for the N.G.O.s, Osmany Salas lauds G.O.B.’s efforts to initiate a ban on single-use plastics and styrofoam. Salas says that while he hasn’t reviewed the final document with the regulations, from what he knows, it’s the right move and one that seemed to have encouraged other countries in the region to follow suit.
Osmany Salas, Senator for N.G.Os
“My understanding is, and I saw the Government Press Release yesterday and they referred to the regulations that Minister Hulse signed, I think, to take effect as of today; the regulations. I must say that I haven’t had a chance to read the regulations as yet, but my understanding is that the process for the ban to fully take effect commences with the signing of these regulations. That is a tremendous step. So, my understanding is that the manufacturers of Styrofoam containers, for example, will have a time to phase that out and the suppliers and manufacturers of the biodegradable containers will also have the opportunity and the time and space and support to put that in place. So, the phasing out process has now taken legal effect. So, the way I understand it, it doesn’t mean that as of today it will be illegal to have single-use plastics at a store, for example. But the process legally commences now to completely ban that after a certain period of time. It is a tremendous step and the government must be congratulated to take that step. It puts Belize on the map. Since we’ve announced the process to initiate that, other countries have instituted the ban themselves. So, I am glad to see that happening in different parts of the world and here in Belize. What I expect and hope to see is for the fiscal incentives support to be given to the local manufacturers of biodegradables because we need to provide the specific support to make them more affordable. They tend to be more expensive than single-use and Styrofoam products, so that also has to be put in place and there will also be a need to import some of these items to Belize.”