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Govt. to restrict Styrofoam importation
– local companies not forceful in finding alternatives
With local companies hesitant to produce alternatives to Styrofoam or polystyrene products, Government has not formulated precise and implementable interventions to ban this non bio-degradable material.
This is according to Dr. Roger Luncheon, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, whilst updating the media on two measures the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment is tasked with carrying out in relation to restricting Styrofoam products.
Painting a hypothetical picture of the situation for users and producers of Styrofoam products, Dr. Luncheon indicated that the abandonment of this material would be dependent on alternative, penalties and the hurdles one would have to overcome to continue importation.
Styrofoam boxes and cups among garbage in a city drain
According to him, Styrofoam has played an inordinately important role in the accumulation of solid waste for disposal by local authorities. Because of its non-disposable and chemical nature that does not make it useful in recycling operations, Styrofoam ends up in landfill sites, where the evidence shows it exists indefinitely.
He enlightened that in June, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, obtained Cabinet’s approval on a menu of measures to restrict Styrofoam products in Guyana.
They are the “imposition of taxes and duties on Styrofoam importation and use with the intention, of course, of being a disincentive to its importation and use in the food industry; and, the second was the creation and the offer of incentives to importers and the users of alternatives to Styrofoam in the food sector”.
In August 2012, Caribbean Container Inc. (CCI) launched “Eco Pak” its bio-degradable containers. CCI’s Chief Operating Officer, Patricia Bacchus had said that the product was developed because of the dire need for an alternative for Styrofoam and plastic receptacles, coupled with Government’s intention to impose an environmental levy.
Ms. Bacchus had said that feedback from the business community, particularly from those in the restaurant and hotel industries, led them to be confident about the product’s success.
She had related that “Eco Pak” is made from sugar cane fibre, rather than from wood pulp.
Explaining why sugar cane was used, Bacchus said sugar cane crops regenerate much quicker and are less resource intensive.
She had stated that the product is 100 percent biodegradable, and after use, decomposition takes 90 days.
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