(FP)
Boycott those who would use the ban on single-use plastics as an excuse to jack up their food prices.
This exhortation has come from Director of Advocacy at the Future Centre Trust, Kammie Holder.
He was speaking yesterday ahead of a ban on all single use plastics, including styrofoam containers, cups, cutlery and plastic bags, with the exception of bags used for the packaging of pharmaceuticals and medicines, hygiene products and the preservation of food, which comes into effect on April 1.
Holder, who was at a press conference hosted by BICO Ltd to promote the company’s Vegware line of products, said at least one food vendor was predicting that her prices would have to be increased by as much as $2 as a result of purchasing the biodegradable containers which were more expensive than styrofoam.
Vegware is made from corn starch and officials at BICO say the products degrade in about six to eight weeks and are compostable. However, styrofoam remains in the environment for hundreds of years.
Holder said the woman revealed she bought 100 styrofoam containers at $25 but would now have to pay $30 for the biodegradable alternatives.
“I don’t know what kind of maths this would be,” Holder said.
“But I want to encourage people – stay far from those greedy persons. There is no way that something that is going to cost less than $10 more would cause you to pass on $2 for every plate of food.
“And that is something that really causes my blood to boil to think that people would use price gouging to do the right thing for the country and that is inexcusable,” the outspoken environmentalist declared.
He urged Barbadians to return to the ways of their forefathers – take a container. “When we went for black pudding in the past, we took our own containers and there are incentives already in Barbados by some organisations and establishments – if you take your own plate, you get a discount. And that is where we are going, as it relates to the circular economy, as we seek to reduce our carbon footprint. So do not accept no $2 increase,” Holder said. ( HLE)
Executive Chairman of BICO Edwin Thirlwell getting his soup in Vegware containers in a test of their
durability. (SKP)
KAMMIE HOLDER
