PHILIPSBURG –The seventh annual Lighted Parade “Destra Edition,” set to take place on August 18, promises to be the “greenest” parade ever, as the management of organiser Rio Productions decided recently to completely ban regular plastic cups from its parade.
“After the major devastation of Hurricane Irma, garbage collection issues, pollution in our territorial waters and ongoing dump fires – as also recently addressed by the Nature foundation – management of Rio Productions believes that this little paradise we all call home has suffered long enough.
“Rio Productions no longer wants to be part of the problem by adding more and more toxic plastic disposable materials to the landfill, but is now fully committed to be part of the solution. Rio therefore chose to use 100 per cent eco-friendly biodegradable cups during the upcoming Lighted Parade. The cups are made of materials that are all based on natural resources, and have no side effects to water, land, plants and living organisms,” according to a press release from Rio on Sunday.
Rio Productions President Brenda Wathey said, “If you have St. Maarten at heart, operating in an eco-friendly manner should be the modus operandi. We cannot idly sit by and only wait on the government to take initiatives. We as businessowners should take our own responsibility and start undertakings that will positively impact our society.
“Over 2,000 people will be participating during the upcoming Lighted Parade, and that means that more than 10,000 cups will be distributed amongst the revellers. To absolutely minimise our impact on the environment, we’ve decided to collaborate with the popular bar and restaurant ‘Nowhere Special’ and choose to only utilize eco-friendly and 100 per cent biodegradable cups during the parade. We’ve also contracted a local cleaning company to follow the parade, to absolutely make sure that not one piece of waste will be left behind.”
The Lighted Parade 2018 is expected to be the biggest one ever, as world-famous Destra Garcia will be the main performer during the parade. Enthusiasm is widely shared in the community, as more than 500 T-shirts were sold within five days after the launch, according to Rio.
Anyone who is interested in participating can purchase a T-shirt at the N.C. Wathey office, Van Dorp Madame Estate, Nowhere Special, UTS stores and Caribbean Liquors and Tobacco (CLT). The T-shirt comes with LED lights and gives access to the Lighted Parade. It also allows the wearer to make use of the open bar during the event.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/78853-regular-plastic-cups-banned-from-the-rio-lighted-parade
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