Happy 2019
everybody!!!
Back in the writer's chair on my blog after spending much time adjusting to teaching at a new school, Calabar High School. But blogging is my passion and I intend to keep going, as I prefer to be tired than broke!!!
Back in the writer's chair on my blog after spending much time adjusting to teaching at a new school, Calabar High School. But blogging is my passion and I intend to keep going, as I prefer to be tired than broke!!!
It has finally
happened and it's now official!!!
The ban on
single-use plastic bags, straws and Styrofoam is now in place as of
January 1st 2019 as reported in the article “Plastic
ban begins tomorrow, Vaz updates the public”, published Monday
December 31, 2018, The Jamaica
Gleaner.
Effective immediately, all stocks of single use plastic bags of dimension 24"x24" or less and disposable plastic straws should be embargoed by manufacturers, importers and distributors in a manor prescribed by the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority. pic.twitter.com/Si1vtDLAj7— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) January 1, 2019
Ministry of Economic
Growth and Job Creation Daryl Vaz is quite insistent that this ban be kept in place.
The maximum fine under the Trade Act (Trade Plastic Packing Material
Order) 2018, is $2,000,000, while under the NRCA (Plastic Packaging
Prohibiting) Order 2018, the fine is $50,000.
I've been expecting
this since February 2018, as noted on my blog
article entitled “How
a Ban on Styrofoam, Plastics needs Recycling Initiative to save the
Jamaican Environment” so this is quite a New Years Present!!
Both Orders carry a
term of imprisonment of two years, respectively.
And naturally, a lot
of Jamaican were caught off guard, as truth be told, Daryl Vaz made
this announcement back in September 2018 as noted in the article
“Gov't
bans single use shopping bags, plastic straws, Styrofoam effective
January 1, 2019”, published Monday, September 17, 2018, . The
Jamaica Gleaner
So we really had
only 4 months to prepare!!! With the threat of such a hefty fine
hanging over the heads of retailers and Jamaicans alike, was the
public adequately prepared for what was to come?
Plastic
Ban - Ban needed on Plastic used in packaging
I personally support
this as I've been calling for it for a long time on my blog as noted
in my blog article “How
Plastic Bottles and Styrofoam may soon be banned in Jamaica”.
In fact, Jamaica can
also recycle 500ml Plastic bottles, but the return for collecting
Plastic must be at least JA$100 per bottle for it to work
successfully as noted in my blog
article entitled “How
JA$100 for recycling 500ml Plastic bottles and Styrofoam Ban will
save Jamaica's Environment”.
Still there will be
resistance, especially from members of the informal sector i.e. vendors who sell cooked food, who use styrofoam
containers to sell food as noted in the article “Now
what? Vendors question options after plastic ban”, published
Friday December 28, 2018, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
So are there any
alternatives to single-use plastic bags, straws and Styrofoam?
Alternatives
available - Biodegradable Bags and Bamboos straws but no Styrofoam
replacement
Alternatives are
available as at least three (3) companies have popped out of nowhere,
mostly run by young entrepreneurs to supply alternatives to
single-use plastic bags, straws.
First, there is a
start-up called Creative People Tings.
Albeit their website, www.tpctings.com, is currently down, much is known about their early success as noted in the article “‘Nuh Inna Di Scandal': Young entrepreneurs create stylish totes to replace plastic bags”, published Tuesday January 1, 2019, The Jamaica Gleaner.
Albeit their website, www.tpctings.com, is currently down, much is known about their early success as noted in the article “‘Nuh Inna Di Scandal': Young entrepreneurs create stylish totes to replace plastic bags”, published Tuesday January 1, 2019, The Jamaica Gleaner.
Creative People
Tings sells cloth tote bags and have been thoughtful enough not to
use plastic in their packaging, as noted by director of operations,
Marc Gayle, quote: "One of the things that we've debated [among]
ourselves is not using plastic in our packaging. So we decided,
early, to use cloth strings and paper tags to label our bags, as well
as package them in paper bags".
Then there is Samo
Johnson, CEO of Eco-tings Jamaica, who is offering alternatives to
almost everything that is being banned and all of them are reusable
as noted in the article “Plastic
Ban | Eco-tings Jamaica providing plastic alternatives”, by
Danae Hyman, published Friday December 28, 2018, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
Finally, there is an
more official looking company that has been up and running for almost
a year called SavGore that has been selling customizable
biodegradable bags as noted in the article “Plastic
Ban | Savgore Limited to sell eco-friendly bags to public”,
published Wednesday January 2, 2019, The
Jamaican Gleaner.
I'm still yet to see
any alternative to Styrofoam; I suspect Wisynco is working on a
biodegradable alternative as they're hinted in my
blog
article entitled “Why
Wisynco making coloured Biodegradable Styrofoam heralds Beeswax
Cardboard Packaging”.
Plastic removal from
Jamaica - Plastic Packaging needs to go as well
I've made it know
that plastic Bottles should be next on the radar, preferably being
removed gradually by taxation of their usage as noted in my blog
article entitled “CARPI
Taxation and Recycling Partners of Jamaica Bottle Deposit Scheme will
eliminate Plastics by 2025”.
They are a threat to
our health in the long term as studies have shown that they may be
getting into our foods as noted in my blog
article entitled “University
of East Anglia's School of Chemistry discovers microplastic in
Bottled Water”.
But equally as
troubling as single-use plastic Bags is plastic packaging.
It's really
irritating to have to purchase an item in a plastic bag, only to then
have to take that item out of the plastic bag and now have to throw
it away or find some use for that additional bit of plastic.
Getting rid of
single use plastic bags should start with foods, especially common
ones such as flour and sugar as noted in my blog
article entitled “BSJ's
NCRA Standardized packaging of Flour and Rice heralds more packaged
products”
Otherwise we will
soon be dying of illnesses due to plastics in our foods and
experience continued flooding of our roadways due to plastic clogging
our drains.
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