Legislation to ban polystyrene foam (PSF), which is commonly known as Styrofoam, and single-use plastics in the Virgin Islands will soon be brought to the House of Assembly (HoA). Photo: Internet Source/File

Minister for Health and Social Development Hon Carvin Malone (AL) in a Waste Management Strategy Update on Monday, June 24, 2019, said new legislations will seek to reduce the importation of environmentally damaging materials and products by placing bans on Styrofoam and single-use plastics. Photo: GIS/File

According to Minister for Health and Social Development Hon Carvin Malone (AL), with all measures in place it is calculated that the territory would be able to reduce the production of waste materials by some 80 percent from its current level of 1,200 tons daily. Photo: Facebook

This is according to Minister for Health and Social Development Hon Carvin Malone (AL) in a Waste Management Strategy Update on Monday, June 24, 2019.

According to Honourable, Malone it is imperative that as a territory “each of us must fully embrace the concepts of REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE.”

“New legislations will seek to reduce the importation of environmentally damaging materials and products by placing bans on Styrofoam and single-use plastics,” Hon Malone added.

It was not stated exactly when the legislation would be brought to parliament.

Hon Malone said; however, residents must be encouraged to reuse materials and products such as food and drink containers as opposed to single use items.

“Through the process of recycle waste materials will be transformed into valuable products for effective and efficient usage.”

Policy to reduce plastic waste already approved by Cabinet

Cabinet on November 8, 2019 had agreed on a policy to reduce plastic waste that would prohibit food and drink containers made of non-compostable plastics including Styrofoam, as well as non-biodegradable single-use plastic bags.

The Ministers and Governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert, who had chaired that cabinet meeting, also agreed that that biodegradable, eco-friendly, alternative products, be exempted from import duties for a period of five years.

Additionally, the Cabinet agreed to impose a levy on the importation of plastic water bottles to be paid into a recycling fund and that a deposit-refund system, be created for single-use beverage containers (i.e. cans and bottles) as a monetary incentive for recycling or reuse.

What is single-use plastics?

Single-use plastics, or disposable plastics, are used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These items are things like plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles and most food packaging.

According to New York Times, about 300 million tons of plastic is produced globally each year. Only about 10 percent of that is recycled. Of the plastic that is simply trashed, an estimated seven million tons ends up in the sea each year where it breaks down into smaller and smaller fragments over the years.

And according to plasticfreechallenge.org, the nature of petroleum based disposable plastic makes it difficult to recycle and they have to add new virgin materials and chemicals to it to do so. Additionally there are a limited number of items that recycled plastic can be used.

Petroleum based plastic is not biodegradable and usually goes into a landfill where it is buried or it gets into the water and finds its way into the ocean. Although plastic will not biodegrade (decompose into natural substance like soil,) it will degrade (break down) into tiny particles after many years. In the process of breaking down, it releases toxic chemicals (additives that were used to shape and harden the plastic) which make their way into our food and water supply.

“These toxic chemicals are now being found in our bloodstream and the latest research has found them to disrupt the Endocrine system which can cause cancer, infertility, birth defects, impaired immunity and many other ailments,” according to plasticfreechallenge.org.