The public and interested parties are hereby advised that the Draft Environmental Protection (Pollution from Plastics) Regulation, 2019, is available for review on the Department of the Environment (DOE) website at www.doe.gov.bz. The DOE requests that ALL comments on the Draft Regulation be submitted in writing using the Plastics Regulations Comment Sheet, also available on the DOE website. All written comments are to be submitted to the DOE via email at [email protected] no later than Thursday, 21st March 2019.
On 20th March 2018, the Cabinet approved the planned phase-out of single-use disposable bags and single-use disposable styrofoam and plastic food utensils by 22nd April 2019. This phase-out initiative is a necessary measure for pollution control to reduce the waste generated by single-use disposable plastics to ensure the continued protection of the terrestrial and marine environment from plastic pollution. As part of the national environmental strategy to ensure a Clean and Green Belize, the Cabinet, at its sitting on 10th July 2018, approved the “Implementation Strategy and Action Plan to Phase-out Single-Use Plastics and Styrofoam Utensils, Transition to Green Products, and Promote Recycling”. A priority outcome of this Implementation Strategy and Action Plan is the regulatory strengthening to enable the restriction of importation, manufacture and sale of single-use plastics and prohibit specific targeted single-use plastics through a permitting and licencing regime under the Environmental Protection Act.
