Island Nation Gives Single-Use Plastic the Boot

The Caribbean country of St. Kitts and Nevis intends to ban, phase out, and replace selected single-use Styrofoam and polystyrene products, thus further reducing their contribution to global warming and their devastating impacts on ecosystems.

“And so that affects the environment, it affects the biodiversity, even human health because they might break down to an extent in which it’s just microplastics – we might now see it, but it exists within the environment, affecting our soils, affecting the air when they are burned,” explains Eavin Parry, an official from the Department of Sustainable Environment, Climate Action and Constituency Empowerment.

The plastic ban campaign is divided into three stages, starting with a ban on importing single-use plastic shopping bags – excluding biodegradable ones – on March 31, 2024. On June 30, there will be a ban on the sale and distribution of plastic shopping bags and the importation of all single-use Styrofoam food containers and plastic straws. The ban on selling Styrofoam food containers, including egg boxes, trays, and plastic straws, is set for September 30.