The countdown to the phase out is officially on! The government of Belize announced that effective January 15th, 2020 The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment, Sustainable Development and Immigration, Hon. Godwin Hulse, signed into law the Pollution from Plastics Regulations which begins the transitional process with 3, 6, 9 and 12 month enactment dates for different restricted items. The conversation has been a long time in the works and so this is no surprise to the Belizean people. This new legislation regulates the importation and manufacturing of Restricted Products through a licensing and permitting process through the Department of the Environment and also prohibits the importation, manufacturing, sale, and possession of Prohibited Products in Schedule II of the regulations. (see below for details of transitional period and prohibited products).
The list of single-use plastic products to be prohibited as per Schedule II of the Environmental Protection (Pollution from Plastics) Regulations, 2020, is as follows:
• Single-use styrofoam and plastic “clamshells”
• Single-use styrofoam and plastic plates, bowls, and cups and lids
• Single-use plastic forks, knives, spoons, sporks, and cutlery
• Single-use plastic carrier bags commonly referred to as shopping bags and/or T-shirt bags
• Single-use plastic drinking straws
The Transitional process and timeframes are as follows:
(a) prohibit the importation of products listed in Schedule II three (3) months after the enactment date of this legislation;
(b) prohibit the manufacture of products listed in Schedule II six (6) months after the enactment date of this legislation;
(c) prohibit the sale of products listed in Schedule II nine (9) months after the enactment date of this legislation; and
(d) prohibit the possession of products listed in Schedule II twelve (12) months after the enactment date of this legislation.
The purpose of these regulations is to carry out Cabinet’s decision to reduce plastic and styrofoam pollution through the phasing out of single-use plastics, including shopping bags and styrofoam and plastic food utensils. This decision was made as a necessary pollution control measure to protect the terrestrial and marine environment from harmful plastic contamination.
These regulations have undergone months of legislative drafting and re-drafting, and have been subjected to an extensive consultation period with regulators and stakeholders from the private sector such as importers, manufacturers and producers of single-use plastics.
At Green Light Paper, we are honored to be able to provide an alternative source for businesses in Belize to easily make this transition from single-use-plastics.