St. Vincent and the Grenadines will as of May 1, 2017 ban the importation of Styrofoam products.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves made the announcement in Parliament on Monday as he delivered the Budget Address.
Gonsalves, who is also Minister of Finance, also announced the removal of Value Added Taxes on biodegradable packaging and food containers.
“This measure is intended to lower the costs of these environmentally positive substitutes for plastics, including Styrofoam, and reduce the adverse effects that plastics have on our environment,” he said.
Over 100 U.S., Canadian, European, and Asian cities, have banned the use of Styrofoam containers
The Story of Stuff Projects explains some of the problems with Styrofoam, including the fact that it does not biodegrade.
“It may break into small pieces, even minuscule pieces. But the smaller EPS gets, the harder it is to clean up.”
Styrofoam is made of fossil fuels and synthetic chemicals, which may leach if they come in contact with hot, greasy or acidic food.
“Yes, they keep your coffee hot — but they may also add an unwanted dose of toxins to your drink,” the Story of Stuff Project said.
Further, animals sometimes eat Styrofoam, which is indigestible.
Turtles and fish seem to mistake expanded polystyrene foam for food, and that can kill them. Not only can they not digest it, but the foam could be full of poisons that it has absorbed from contaminants floating in the water.
Additionally, Styrofoam can’t be recycled.
Good decision!
Good move for the environment!
Years overdue.
We have to mention it when the government does good things, and this is a good thing, making the country a better place by discouraging plastics and other materials bad for the environment.
This is a very good move , and should be taken by Governments in the Region . Now there is another product that must also be banned in the Region ; ROUND UP ; I am not aware of whether or not it is sold in SVG , but it is exceedingly Toxic . in the USA , it is still being sold ,in Hardware Stores .
I sincerely hope that Governments in the Region ban ALL GMO PRODUCTS WHICH WITH
ROUND UP , ARE MANUFACTURED BY MONSANTO . I sincerely hope that Governments in
the Region , do serious research into ROUND UP & GMO PRODUCTS , and educate the citizens of their respective Countries regarding the dangers of these products ,and ban them
forever in the Region .
In my opinion ALL Political Parties IN EVERY COUNTRY IN THE REGION , MUST AGREE
TO BAN THESE PRODUCTS . In essence this is a matter , that MUST BE above Politics . I
would encourage ALL to read and digest the ILLS of these products .
WE live in an era where knowledge on most things in the world can be gleaned on the Internet
which has made the World a Global Village . So there is absolutely no excuse for anyone being in the dark about ROUND UP & GMO PRODUCTS . All that is required is to Google them .