St. Kitts Launches Plastic Free Campaign
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| St. Kitts Launches Plastic Free Campaign |
| BASSETERRE (14TH February 2019): The Ministry of Tourism, in coordination with the Sustainable Destination Council (SDC), seeks to create a “Wave of Change” within St. Kitts and Nevis by targeting the problem of single use plastic for 2019. “Single use plastic” refers to plastic items which are typically used once and discarded, such as plastic bags and bottles. Though used only once, these items and the chemicals they contain remain in our environment indefinitely. Designated as the Plastic Free SKN campaign, residents of St. Kitts and Nevis will be made aware of plastic pollution and how it threatens marine life, our environment, our personal health, and, of course, poses a great threat to our tourism product. In addition, residents will be encouraged to develop plastic free habits, such as walking with a reusable bottle and carrying a reusable bag and testing their creativity with projects repurposing plastic. Minister of Tourism, The Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, said that it was imperative that we use our collective efforts to keep our beaches and environment pristine. “Every type of plastic material and plastic objects we use daily can be found on our beaches and in the ocean: shopping bags, straws, plastic bottles, coffee stirrers etc.,” Minister Grant said. “These items not only make the beaches unattractive, but they also destroy marine life. Litter-covered beaches are unattractive to our visitors, plastic pollution destroys our natural coral reefs.” The Plastic Free SKN campaign was launched January 1st, when an SDC-commissioned carnival float depicting a turtle trapped in a wave of plastic dubbed “Wave of Change” took to the streets as a part of the Carnival Parade. Members were also seen throughout the parade distributing reusable shopping bags and cups to onlookers and other carnival masqueraders. Throughout the year Ministry of Tourism and the SDC will host a number of awareness activities aimed at urging all residents to participate and support the plastic-free initiative. The SDC is an advisory body made up of public and private representatives with interest in sustainable tourism development in St. Kitts. The organization facilitates partnerships and functional relationships among public and private sectors and all people in St. Kitts, to ensure that development in our destination preserves and benefits our environment, health, culture, heritage and community livelihoods. The SDC operates under the motto “Good for us, better for all” |
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