The Tribune

By Morgan Adderley 

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net 

ENVIRONMENT and Housing Minister Romauld Ferreira plans to take a paper to Cabinet on the issue of banning plastic bags in the Bahamas, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold confirmed yesterday to The Tribune.

The proposed ban has recently been brought into focus through the efforts of the Bahamas Plastic Movement (BPM), an environmental non-governmental organisation.

Youth representatives from BPM travelled from Eleuthera to Nassau earlier this month to advocate for the ban and highlight the detrimental effects plastic has on the environment.

According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC), Mr Ferreira announced proposed plans for a plastic bag ban to the BPM delegation when he met with them during their trip.

“Minister Ferreira proposed to ban plastic bags completely in The Bahamas, followed by various types of single-use plastics such as polystyrene (Styrofoam),” the PPC website states.

Mr Ferreira also “explained that the Ministry of Environment has been working on formulating and pushing regulations with Parliament that address plastic use in the country and agreed that through laws and swift action, the problem of plastic pollution will be reversed in the Bahamas.”

The website continues: “Bahamas Plastic Movement founder, Kristal Ambrose, said plastic bags are used in abundance in the Bahamas, along with other single-use and disposable plastic items such as plastic bottles, straws, cups, and polystyrene (also known as Styrofoam) food containers.” 

“Our goal is to see a reduction in plastic bag use and plastic bag litter in the country, however our ultimate goal is to have a complete ban on plastic bags and Styrofoam for the entire Bahamas by the year 2020,” said Ms Ambrose.

Representatives from Bahamas Plastic Movement said if the rate of plastic pollution on beaches increases, it could cause up to US $8.5 million in tourism losses annually for the country.

In the Free National Movement’s 2017 manifesto, the party vowed that “an FNM government will phase out the use of plastic bags by 2020.”

Mr Ferreira did not respond to The Tribune’s numerous requests for comment up to press time.