Bermuda can do this!
From "REGULATING SINGLE-USE PLASTICS IN BERMUDA: Policy paper for public consultation"
Go to the project
Yes, eliminating some single-use will result in challenges. Bermuda can do this though! We can come together and identify the challenges and put our heads together to find workable solutions. Remember, Government is not talking about eliminating all SUPs and those that are impacted, not all at once necessarily. Plastic is indeed a wonder material. It has just overused and that is resulting in environmental problems, human health issues, social justice issues, economic issues and is a major factor in climate change. Yes, all those problems from the seemingly harmless plastic cup or water bottle. We cannot continue down this path though. The amount of plastics entering the market and our environment is set to double by 2040. I personally have not spoken to anyone who thinks plastic is not an issue and that we have to deal with it. So then the question becomes ‘how’?
The good news is that we are a small community. We know each other and we can have a civil conversation about this. We do not have to deal with a nameless and faceless corporate entities that dictates what we bring into Bermuda. We can find workable solutions to just about every challenge that has been raised on this forum to date. Maybe not today… but maybe in a year from now. And yes we know how hard it is to influence our suppliers overseas. Make no mistake though, Bermuda has more influence than you might believe on environmental issues. I can cite one notable example locally. Even major corporations do watch what laws get passed even in small jurisdictions and react.
As to cost, as that always comes up. Plastic is costing us already, you are just not be paying that price at the cash register. You pay the costs elsewhere. Unfortunately plastic is not at cheap as it looks. It is estimated that the plastic produced in just 2019 will have a life time cost of $3.7 trillion and by 2040 that is projected to be $7.1 trillion. That equates to plastic cost being ten times what the first cost is. And those numbers do not include the increased cost of health care resulting from plastics exposure. Who is paying that cost. You are. So what is being discussed is putting the cost back where it belongs. I will write another post about EPR – Extended producer Responsibility. It may have a role to play in Bermuda.
Please join Beyond Plastic Bermuda in one of our upcoming webinars. We will discuss all the problems with plastic and start to talk about solutions.
