Suriname Still Has Not Banned Plastic Bags And Other Plastic Packaging Dagblad Suriname

Everyone sees it in snaffle bits, on the street, on roadsides, everywhere: plastic waste And that waste does not disappear, it does not decay.

In snaffle bits, all that waste causes blockages, divers full of plastic, resulting in flooding The question has been going on for many years: why not ban all that plastic? Why do customers still walk out of shops and supermarkets with handfuls of plastic bags and bags of groceries? What is it with Suriname, with Surinamese? Ban on foam trays, why not on plastic? We did succeed in banning styrofoam as packaging material for food in Suriname as of November 1, 2019.

This concerns the disposable foam trays, plates and cups that are mainly used in the catering industry The then Ministry of Commerce, In anticipation of that decision, Industry and Tourism had already imposed an import ban on styrofoam from 1 May 2019.

Discussions were held with the producers and importers to introduce alternatives Why can't this be done with plastic? Of course, plastic is a broad concept, after all, plastic is used very often in all kinds of forms, for example as packaging material for all kinds of products.

In recent years, various attempts have been made to ban the use of so-called disposable plastic 2018 SuReSur In July 2018, the Support Recycling Suriname Foundation (SuReSur) wanted to ban plastic bags from supermarkets and shopping centers as of January 1, 2019.

As an impetus for this goal, a petition was presented to then President of the Assembly, Jennifer Geerlings-Simons “We want a ban on those plastic bags from the supermarkets, those very thin bags.

That it will not be published, that an alternative will come,” said Glenn Ramdjan, project coordinator of SuReSur at the time According to the organization, more than 200 million bags are used in Suriname every year.

“It is not the citizens who introduced the plastic bag It is the business community, nationally and internationally, that has done that,” said the Assembly Speaker.

“I think citizens can live very well without plastic bags ” End of 2018: Minister consults with plastic producers In December of that year, 2018, then Minister Stephen Tsang of Trade, Industry and Tourism had a meeting with plastic producers.

He exchanged ideas with them about how the 'single use plastic' bags can be gradually replaced by sustainable material With a view to 'country branding' for tourism development, the ministry then wanted to make a policy for the use of disposable plastic.

The manufacturers indicated that a great deal still needs to be done to replace plastic bags They have invested in machines for the production of such bags and it will certainly take time to switch to environmentally friendly packaging material, the ministry said at the time.

According to the producers, consumers should also cooperate, as they are the main culprits of environmental pollution, contrary to the impression given by environmental organizations that manufacturers are the cause of this problem There was a plea for the imposition of sanctions for polluting the city.

The minister asked the producers to draw up a timeline to determine the timeframe within which they would be able to make the transformation to more sustainable products But, as far as we know, nothing has happened since 2018 and in 2023 there is still no policy on disposable plastic.

March 2021: EZ plastic awareness campaign Three years later, in March 2021, on World Consumer Rights Day (15 March), the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation (EZ) launched the plastic awareness campaign The theme was 'Tackling Plastic Pollution'.

EZ: “Plastic is a very useful material in everyday life, but the use of plastic and its production, single-use plastics in particular, have gotten out of hand This has negative consequences for our ecosystems and the environment.

Pollution of the local and international environment is taking place and it poses a threat to human health, the ministry says ” The Ministry of Economic Affairs called on society to handle their plastic waste responsibly and to offer it as much as possible to the collection points in the various districts for recycling.

There is a ban in India, among others There are countries in the world where single-use plastic is banned.

One of those countries is India Such a ban was imposed there in July 2022.

These are items ranging from straws to cigarette packs to combat the increasing pollution in the country of nearly 1 4 billion people.

The ban on single-use plastic items includes straws, cutlery, ear plugs, packaging foils, plastic sticks for balloons, candy and ice cream, and cigarette packs Canada In 2021, the Canadian government issued the Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations.

The aim of these regulations is to ban the production, import and sale of six categories of single-use plastics, including checkout bags, cutlery and ring bearers China Since 2021, China has banned single-use plastic bags and utensils from major cities, and single-use straws have been banned across the country.

Chile Chile began phasing out single-use plastics in restaurants and delivery services in 2022 These changes will come into full effect in 2024 and are expected to reduce more than 23,000 tons of plastic annually.

Fiji Fiji has banned polyethylene (PET) plastic bags and introduced a plastic bag levy to deter consumers from using plastic bags and to encourage the use of reusable bags when shopping Ghana In Ghana, Nelplast Ghana recycles plastic waste into bricks, enabling builders in the country to build sturdy homes that are cheaper than steel and cement.

The company now recycles between 2,500 and 3,000 tons of plastic waste every day, reducing plastic pollution and creating employment Indonesia A presidential decree in 2018 created a plan to reduce marine plastic waste by 2025.

In addition, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry has set out a roadmap to reduce non-recycled plastic waste by 30% by 2030 Japan Japan is implementing a strategy of recycling plastics for single-use plastics.

The plan states that the government will encourage legislation to stop the use of plastic products and the export of plastic packaging materials and e-waste Kenya Plastic bags are banned in commercial and household packaging.

The government has also banned visitors from bringing single-use plastic into Kenya's protected areas Namibia Namibia has banned single-use plastic bags in protected areas and charges a fee for their use in stores across the country.

Fee income goes to an Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) to improve waste management Palau Palau's Plastic Bag Reduction Act prohibits the distribution of plastic bags by retailers and prohibits the importation of plastic bag products.

Palau has also implemented a Zero Disposable Plastic policy, prohibiting all disposable plastic and polystyrene beverage containers from being served to employees or guests on government property Portugal Since 2020, Portugal has banned free plastic bags in all commercial establishments, along with single-use plastics from catering services.

The current situation in Suriname regarding a possible ban on the use of plastic bags and possibly also single-use plastic products is unclear To answer that question, the editors of Dagblad Suriname have approached the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation and the Support Recycling Suriname Foundation (SuReSur) for a response.

So far, EZ and SuReSur have not responded PK.