BY DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

WITH support of local wholesale suppliers and retailers, a year-long bio-degradable campaign to reduce Styrofoam was launched on Grand Bahama on Friday.

This comes at a time when many US cities, and even some Caribbean countries, have banned Styrofoam use in their respective jurisdictions.

The ‘Reduce Styro and use Bio’ campaign is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Tourism’s Sustainable Tourism Unit, and supported by the Keep Grand Bahama Clean Committee.

Major wholesale suppliers such as Bahamas Wholesale Agency (BWA); CostRight and AML Foods; Bahamas Food Services, Control Chemicals, and Express Food Mart, the largest convenience store retailer on the island, have all come onboard.   

Jeffrey Pinder, senior executive of Sustainable Tourism Unit at the Ministry of Tourism in Freeport, was pleased with the support from local suppliers on the island.

The United Nations has declared 2017 ‘The Year of Sustainable Tourism Development.’ In keeping with the initiative, Mr Pinder said the MOT’s STU is committed to placing focus on three UN goals: to immediately combat climate change and its impact, conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources, and sustainably manage our land usage and prevent land degradation.     

He indicated that Styrofoam causes adverse environmental and health effects in The Bahamas.  

“Styrofoam is neither bio-degradable or recyclable here on the island, and places a burden on our health, the economy, and the environment,” he said.

Mr Pinder reported that Styrofoam and plastic bags were the most common items found along coastline and beaches during the annual Coastal Cleanup initiative held in September.

“These items end up in the ocean where fish and turtle mistakenly consume them as food. And our visitors’ experience is also impacted by this and leaves a negative image of the island,” he said.  

Mr Pinder also noted that the National Institute of Health classifies Styrofoam as a major carcinogen (cancer causing agent).

“When hot foods or drinks are put in styrofoam containers, a chemical called styrene is released. Styrene is used to make plastic and other resins, and is linked to various respiratory and cancer related illnesses,”

Mr Pinder believes that it is important for Grand Bahama to start to change its behavior towards styrofoam use.

“We are not attacking any particular business or company, but we want to make a healthy decisions from a tourism perspective, and also because it impacts all of us,” he said.  

Wayne Russell, president of Bahamas Wholesale Agency, has committed to supplying bio-degradable food containers/trays, which should be available on the island in the next two to three weeks.

However, he stressed that the containers cost more compared to Styrofoam trays. 

“We import a lot of the foam trays that the food vendors and restaurants sell their products in. Currently, we go by what the market demands and that is what they are asking for.

“(But) we have decided… to bring in the bio-degradable trays instead of the regular foam trays. So, we are taking a leap of faith here,” Mr Russell said. 

He stressed that the only way to change the mindset towards Styrofoam is for the public to start demanding that restaurants and food vendors serve food in the bio-degradable trays.

“Once the public can create the demand we will have the supply here on the island,” he said.

Mr Russell said the government has tried to assist by allowing BWA to import the bio-degradable trays duty free to help to narrow the gap in cost.  

“We had looked into getting bio-degradable trays…because the foam stuff is horrible, but we did not have the demand for it,” he explained.

Olthea Gardiner, of the Keep Grand Bahama Clean Committee, said: “We are pleased to be here to support the MOT as well as the island’s distributors in this initiative of going green, and assisting with the removal of Styrofoam…because it is dangerous to our island.

“We hope that this campaign continues not only for 2017, but throughout our life span to create a mindset shift,” she said.

Mr Pinder said the STU has planned a number of events, in partnership with the KGBC and the Bahamas National Trust, to educate the public about the negative implications of Styrofoam on their health and the environment.

“We will also take to social media to get the words out because it has to be an educational process. It is not a going to change overnight, and that why it is a year-long campaign. We are hoping it will become a discussion at the government and legislative level to change this behavior towards styrofoarm, which has been banned in some countries.”

Mr Pinder said the ban has been successful in US, in cities such as California, San Francisco, and New York, and in some Caribbean countries, such as Guyana, and Haiti.

“If it can be a success in those countries, then we can have the same level of success and greater here in the Bahamas,” he said.

Some of the US cities that have banned Styrofoam are Seattle, Washington; Washington DC; Miami Beach, FL; Freeport, Maine; Portland, Maine; Nantucket, Massachusetts; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon (and several other Oregon cities); Los Angeles County and many other cities and counties in California.