The call of St. Maarten Nature Foundation to use biodegradable and reusable products (see related story) deserves support for obvious reasons. It must be said, several local companies have already started doing so, but by no means all.
While the business community should certainly play an important role this matter, it appears the public sector has been dragging its feet on the issue for more than half a decade. In March 2012 Parliament first unanimously adopted two motions by Frans Richardson and Janchi Leonard merged into one, giving government 120 days to present a draft ordinance banning single-use plastic bags.
The motion was received by the Council of Ministers in early April, but because nothing seemed to be happening the same two elected representatives of different parties exactly one year later submitted a so-called initiative law that included maximum fines of 1,000 Antillean guilders for violators. The pending legislation was again mentioned by parliamentarians in June 2013, October 2014, August 2015 and – since then along with an alternative approach to insert the prohibition in the General Police Ordinance – in September 2016, March, April, May, June and August 2017 as well as June 2018.
It has also been referred to many times by local environmental organisations and authors of letters to the editor, including tourists. Meanwhile, Aruba has a similar law, as do Kenya, China, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Taiwan and Haiti, while many European countries introduced either (partial) bans or extra charges on the throw-away bags.
What in heaven’s name is taking so long?
