Reducing the Dependency of Plastics in Belize

While much of the discussion is about holding larger countries accountable, Belize has been a trendsetter, having effected a ban on single-use plastics and styrofoam. The Environmental Protection Regulations, legislated in 2020, is a step in the right direction to reduce the country’s reliance on plastic and transition into biodegradable products.

Kenrick Williams

Dr. Kenrick Williams, C.E.O., Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management

“While we are impacted by transboundary implications for waste and plastic pollution, while we have impacts from the international maritime sectors, Belize is not idly standing by. We have implemented recent legislation that addresses plastic pollution. We know that in 2020, we enacted the plastic pollution regulations. We’ve also been developing the regulatory standards along with the Bureau of Standards that will guide and underline and outline the standards for these types of biodegradable product, what constitutes a biodegradable product. So we’ve been in the background for Belize, developing the standards, developing the broader framework for important, manufacturing and all of the frameworks in terms of plastic and plastic pollution. It is not an easy task because of the external influence, because of the changes and the intertwine nature of plastics; there are several industries that are dependent and that use certain types of plastics. So it is an extended process that we are learning in terms of how do we apply it on the ground, working with Customs, the Bureau of Standards and other agencies to implement such?”