Jamaica tourism sector fully on board with plastic ban: Minister

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says the tourism sector should achieve full compliance with the ban on single-use plastics by the end of this fiscal year (March 31).

Bartlett was speaking at a recent JIS ‘Think Tank’, held at the agency’s headquarters in Kingston.

He described the move by the Government to ban some single-use plastics as seminal, and shared that the tourism sector has been at the forefront of sustainability discussions.

“So far, the industry is responding. There are a few brands which have already done their arrangements and are getting rid of plastic straws and styrofoam-type products,” the Minister noted.

Under the ban, exemptions were made for products used to containerise meats and other foods in the tourism, food and beverage industry.

Since 2018, approximately 16 countries worldwide have made strides to curtail plastic pollution by imposing bans and fines on the use of plastic bags, plastic straws, and styrofoam products.

Jamaica, on January 1, 2019, made history and joined those countries by banning the use of these items.