BASSETERRE, St Kitts 21 December 2023 – The Ministry of Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Environment, Climate Action and Constituency Empowerment, in partnership with the Carnival Secretariat in the Ministry of Sports and Creative Economy, on Thursday 21 December 2023, created an alliance during a brief ceremony, premised on promoting a Sustainable Carnival.
As a national event, Carnival celebrations are expected to attract thousands of patrons. Therefore, the Ministries are using the platform to promote the upcoming plastic ban to spread awareness and also to sensitize the public to non-plastic alternatives as part of the Sustainable Island State Agenda.
Eavin Parry, Environmental Officer in the Department of Environment expressed pleasure in the partnership as it borders on the phasing out and banning of single-use plastics in St Kitts and Nevis.
He said, “These single-use [items], as a result of their negative impact on biodiversity [and] on society as a whole, is the reason why we are now moving towards the phasing out. So, we take this opportunity to make this contribution to the Ministry [of Creative Economy] and we look forward to working closely and [also] to deepening our partnership as we work together towards a more cleaner, greener and more sustainable environment.”
Clement ”Monarch” O’Garro, Director of National Carnival extended gratitude not only for the contribution but for the collaboration highlighting the overall objective of providing environmentally-friendly products for the consumers during carnival 2023.
The Director said, “On behalf of the National Carnival Committee, I’d like to say a special thanks to the Ministry of Environment for partnering with us to ensure that Sugar Mas 52, is not only a lot of fun but also that it is environmentally safe for all the patrons.”
Present were Minister of Sustainable Development et al, Hon Dr Joyelle Clarke; Minister of Creative Economy, Hon Samal Duggins and Permanent Secretary in the same Ministry, Valencia Syder.
The Government of St Kitts and Nevis intends to phase out and ultimately ban single-use plastics, specifically, eating utensils, plastic bags, bowls, cups, straws and Styrofoam, as it moves towards more environmentally-friendly, biodegradable alternatives.
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