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Gov’t urged to make 'green legislation' a priority in 2022
Appearing on the January 25, 2022, edition of JTV Big Story, Ms Penny made the push for the legislation, by calling on the VI public to lobby the government towards action.
Public urged to call for action
“Tell your ministers, tell your district representatives, tell your church, tell your friends, tell everybody that this is something that we want and make sure that we start to raise our voices,” she urged.
Included in proposed green legislation, is the Container Deposit Bill which proposes taxes to be added to every plastic beverage container that comes into the country.
Ms Penny explained, “When you bring it back to our recycling centre, you get that money back and this is something a lot of us know and understand from living in a lot of other countries around the world. You get your deposit when you bring your bottle back,” she detailed.
“The big thing is we need everybody to get behind this legislation because it only works if the public understands,” Ms Penny added.
“We have been a part of the process which is why we are really happy to see it come up in the Speech from the Throne again this year, which is setting priorities on the part of the Government.”
Ban on single-use plastics
According to Ms Penny, back in 2018, the Ministry of Health and Social Development commenced the inclusion of Green VI in the process of drafting cabinet papers on the subject and she said a ban on plastic as presented to the government is a very specific proposal.
“Its disposable single-use non-compostable plastic food ware. So that’s your Styrofoam boxes because a lot of people don’t realize those are plastic and they are probably the most toxic plastic that is out there… straws, forks, knives, bags,” she added.
Ms Penny described it as “quite tragic” that some supermarkets reverted to the free distribution of plastic bags after participating in a campaign that saw customers shopping with their own bag, purchasing a recyclable bag or in some cases paying for plastic bags.
However, she complimented two supermarkets, SupaValue and AValue for never returning to providing customers with plastic bags.
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