GIVEN THE many issues of concern dragging down national morale, some Barbadians may find it a distraction and indeed a further burden on the most disadvantaged to have to deal with another monetary imposition.
But the plan to make consumers pay for additional plastic bags at grocery stores is nothing more than an effort at good corporate social responsibility.
Some people will dismiss the plan by some businesses and non-governmental organisations as a nuisance initiative to disrupt their lives, but it is really aimed at enforcing systemic behavioural change in the way we treat the environment.
Plastic bags can serve many wonderful purposes, but they can also create problems for the society. They become an eyesore at the landfill, people indiscriminately discard them and they choke gutters and pollute rivers and the ocean. They are a threat to endangered turtles as well as to fish and birds.
The fee plan to significantly reduce their use as outlined by BICO and the Future Centre Trust is welcome. It should be pursued with enthusiasm and not half-heartedness and there must be measurement of how much consumer behaviour has changed within a specific time period.
Barbadians use and reuse plastic bags in multiple ways, both for very good purposes and bad as in the indiscriminate and illegal dumping which spoils the landscape. This is why we must dispel the myth that imposition of a fee at retail and wholesale outlets will impact disproportionately on poor and working-class families. Rather, we must unite as a society to ensure this new proposal achieves its goals.
Opponents of the proposal will level their criticism, pointing to possible jobs losses in the manufacturing sector. Also, there could be unforeseen consequences, as is the case with any new measure. However, these must not hinder this initiative, which is aimed at the greater good of making and keeping the island a cleaner place and indeed more environmentally friendly.
It will be necessary to avoid complicated rules and regulations targeting only a select group of businesses. This should be a national undertaking involving big and small, chain stores and single outlets, retailers and wholesalers, manufacturers and distributors. It should also be backed by a national public education programme, promoting the three Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle.
This initiative to reduce the use of plastic bags is not a distraction. If Barbados is to overcome its litter problem, the significant reduction in plastic bags or even a total ban will be a good step forward. Achieving this goal is critical.
