PRESS RELEASE – THE St. Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association (SLHTA) fully supports Government’s plans to phase out Styrofoam containers and plastics, including plates and cups, from December 1 this year and to ban their importation by the end of next year.
Minister of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Dr. Gale Rigobert announced recently that the Department of Sustainable Development is embarking on a strategy to eliminate single-use plastics, polystyrene and expanded polystyrene locally in collaboration with the Department of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority, and the Customs and Excise Department.
In a letter to Dr.Rigobert, SLHTA CEO Roderick Cherry assured the Sustainable Development Minister that members of the Association are fully committed to collaborating with Government and other public and private stakeholders to phase out single-use plastics and eradicate plastics pollution and its harmful effects on St. Lucia’s natural environment.
“Our members are deeply concerned about the serious hazards caused to St. Lucia’s natural environment by plastic waste, including severe flooding and the littering of our beaches and coral reefs. We all agree that we have a responsibility to make changes in our daily operations to reduce plastic pollution,” said Mr. Cherry.
Over the years, the SLHTA has strongly advocated the enactment of legislation to promote the reuse or recycling of plastic containers.