Barbados: July 1 ‘is it’ for plastics ban

(Barbados Nation) There will be  no extension on the ban of single-use plastics, says Minister of Maritime Affairs, Kirk Humphrey.

“We announced the ban in January, but we were having talks about it in July 2018, so most importers knew about it,” he said. “We wanted to implement it on January 1, but they said to give them six months, so we took it to April 1. Then on April 1, they said they wanted more time, so we took it to July 1.

 “So there is no extension. July 1 is the effective ban day,” he reiterated. Humphrey, who was speaking to the media after a recent presentation at the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex, Princess Alice Highway, The City, said his ministry was carrying out investigations on the quality of the new alternatives.

 “We have been having conversations with the Barbados National Standards Institute to make sure that the alternatives are up to standard because people have been expressing concern about the new containers.