PHILIPSBURG:— Sint Maarten is taking a major step to becoming plastic-free with the BEYOND A PLASTIC SXM Webinar to be held on May 6th. The webinar is a collaborative effort of MP Sarah A. Wescot-Williams, Ms. Juliet Carvalhal of Impact Blue, along with Mrs. Camila De Conto of Songster.
The free event will include a panel discussion as well as training, aimed at empowering businesses with the necessary knowledge and tools to duly prepare and adopt the law within their organizations.
Today, April 22nd, we recognize and celebrate Earth Day and the BEYOND A PLASTIC SXM team embraces this year’s theme “Restore Our Earth”, which focuses on “natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems” as a timely reminder for us join forces and do our part to protect our health, our livelihood, and our future. “A healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity.”
The Sint Maarten plastic bag ban prohibits single-use plastic bags, plastic straws, and styrofoam food containers and takes effect on July 1, 2021. The interactive webinar targets owners or managers of retail operations (including supermarkets or mini-markets, dine-in or take-out restaurants, hotel F&B operators, and distributors) that use bags at their check-out counters, styrofoam food containers, and/or straws as part of their operations.
The two-hour session includes a panel discussion with speakers MP Wescot-Williams, Ms. Carvalhal, Mrs. De Conto, Melanie Meijer zu Schlochtern of Nature Foundation, and Nikima Hickinson, Senior Policy Advisor in the Ministry of General Affairs (BAK).
Following the panel discussion, businesses will be engaged in training facilitated by Carvalhal, de Conto, and Meijer zu Schlochtern. Upon completion, registered participants will also receive a digital toolkit to support the implementation of the law within their organizations.
“We are quite excited with the response received thus far and in addition to those mentioned above, we have also secured the collaboration of TelEm and SHTA, with several others to follow”, commented MP Wescot-Williams.
Businesses and organizations are welcome to register or request information at beyondplasticsxm@gmail.com. Let’s together move BEYOND A PLASTIC SXM.
