Activists maintain pressure for plastic ban
(CNS): Plastic Free Cayman, Protect Our Future and the Mangrove Rangers are keeping up the campaign for a single-use plastic ban and a reduction in plastic waste and other critical environmental issues, such as preserving diminishing wetlands and threatened reefs.
Following a meeting on Friday with the UK overseas territories minister, Amanda Milling, and Governor Martyn Roper, where they pressed home the need for action, volunteers picked up another 300lbs of garbage on Saturday. most of it plastic, at an East End beach Meanwhile, a new study found that plastics are leaching toxins, even under natural conditions.
Protect Our Future leader, Thomas Dickens, who was one of 50 volunteers, including members of the Key Club and Leo Club, who cleaned up Barefoot Beach, noted the pressing need for the plastic ban.
“Sadly, the beach was littered with a variety of micro, medium and large plastics. Reflecting on our meeting with Minister Miller yesterday, the concept of a single-use ban is ever more critical to revitalising the beauty of our beaches,” he said.
A new study in Scandinavia, published earlier this month, found that plastic products leach many more chemicals into the environment under natural conditions that previously realised. Scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s Department of Biology discovered that hundreds, maybe thousands, of chemicals from plastics can leach into water.
Martin Wagner, an associate professor said the research group has investigated how ordinary plastic products leach chemicals into the water under natural conditions and not just in the lab.
The plastic we surround ourselves with contains up to 20,000 different chemical compounds. Many of these chemicals are toxic under laboratory conditions, but little was previously known about how harmful plastic waste is. The study reveals the critical importance of cleaning up the plastic on our beaches as well as trying to prevent more of it ending up in local waters by banning its use in the first place.
Francella Martin, Plastic Free Cayman clean-up coordinator, thanked all of the volunteers who came out on Saturday morning, 80% of whom were young people. “The strong youth turnout at our clean-ups is always inspiring, and we look forward to the continued support of the community in our future efforts,” she said.
Cayman’s younger generation is also the most active when it comes to pushing the campaign for the government to roll out the stalled 2020 plastic ban policy and align with other Caribbean nations that have already taken this step.
CayOcean is a group of young Caymanian activists who are aiming to develop technology to address the problem of plastic in the sea.
The group’s leader, Brody Thomas, who was volunteering at the event, said, “It’s hurtful to know that plastic is floating out there and marine life is being impacted by it, but I find comfort in knowing actions here in Cayman to fight against this issue are being taken. These clean-ups remind us that we can fix this crisis, but we can’t do it divided.”
The preservation of wetlands is another major battle that young people are heavily involved in. Mangrove Ranger Haileigh Farrington said Cayman needs to have more inter-generational conversations to merge the wisdom of the older members of this community with innovative thinking from young people to finds solutions for problems like our diminishing wetlands and our reliance on single-use plastics.
The Rangers encouraged participation at their upcoming events to raise awareness for National Wetlands Day on 2 February. Plastic Free Cayman will be hosting their next clean-up event on Sunday, 20 February, at Turtle Beach in West Bay, Grand Cayman.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Land Habitat, Science & Nature
I am all for protecting the environment but for godssake one has to use some damn common sense in the battle. Teaching our children to tilt at windmills by turning them into mindless activists is not productive, it is moronic. If we make Cayman Plastic Free and ban all plastic packaging, and single-use plastic, the store shelves would be bare, pharmacies would be unable to fill prescriptions, hospitals would not have a blood supply for life-saving operations…no LFT tests, no PCR tests, no Covid vaccines, no injections of any kind because all the syringes, no medical treatment since almost all disposable medical accessories are single use plastic and packaged in plastic wrappings. No intubation, no life support, no dialysis, no bottled water, no desalination of sea water, no diapers, no detergent or bleach, no toothpaste. Hell, almost No ANYTHING! G.Christ! The list of impacts of this idiotic movement goes on and on. Ok. We ban all single use plastic…and then what? Wait to die of starvation or disease? Wont even have a damn body bag to put us in if our fate is left in the hands of these imbeciles.
Sweden deploys ‘easy to teach’ CROWS to pick up cigarette butts on city streets
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10467263/Sweden-deploys-easy-teach-CROWS-pick-cigarette-butts-city-streets.html
You can teach crows, but people.
How simple it would be for Kirk’s and Foster’s to say 1st March we will not be supplying plastic bags!
It would be a start
Every piece of meat, fish, poultry, and sausage is put on a #5 foam tray and wrapped a couple times in #5 plastic. If we’re being honest, we shouldn’t even be eating this stuff if we care about CO2, water impacts, the environment, or our own health. There’s lots to examine beyond plastic bags, but convenience addicted first world don’t seem to want to have those conversations.
How simple would it be for you to ride a bicycle to work or walk in the context of reducing pollution? Not so convenient now eh?
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/heres-how-we-can-eradicate-plastic-pollution-by-2040/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/atlantic-ocean-plastic-pollution-study
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/atlantic-ocean-plastic-pollution-study
How many know about Boyan Slat CEO of The Ocean Cleanup? He is only 27.
Dutch inventor Boyan Slat founded The Ocean Cleanup at the age of 18 in his hometown of Delft, the Netherlands.
https://theoceancleanup.com/about/
click on Ocean, Rivers and Products-THE FIRST PRODUCT MADE WITH PLASTIC FROM THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH.
Plastic Free Cayman Youth should contact the OceanCleanup, ask questions, get advises. I believe they hire volunteers-an opportunity to get knowledge and experences.
Unfortunately the future looks bleak when it comes to plastic pollution-grownups, baby-boomers, including CIG are not interested in cleaning up messes they have created.
Plastic Free Cayman Youth should regularly visit schools, children as young as 6-10 to show what plastic pollutions is, teach them what could be and need to be done so kids and their kids have a future. Older generation doesn’t care despite the fact that many will diy from cancer caused by the toxic environment.
Reality check, we can only clean our own island and pickup garbage. But people who have come from third world countries are still going to flick cigarettes out in the yard. They still going to throw garbage out their window while driving. Its a cultural thing from throwing bananas and coconuts in the bush. I’ve tried to yell, embarrass, take pics to send the police, what more can you do?
The coastline getting garbage floating in? Is other third world countries cultures doing the same.
Simple solution, close down all products coming from 1st world countries that are not biodegradable.
Cayman has no moral-high ground political currency, nor any lobbying power, and even if we did, we don’t have the consumer population to alter a truck route, let alone North America’s consumer packaging industry. Get real.
The dump !
Open your eyes
“people who have come from third world countries are still going to flick cigarettes out in the yard” – Hahahahahaha! ROTFL That’s rich! My neighbour does that daily in the yard. It is disgusting. Asking her nicely hasn’t worked. She is either British or Irish. I can’t be bothered to get to know her to figure out which.
She also throws her toddlers nappies in the bin without tying up the garbage and then tosses it in the vicinity of the bins where it lands and spills all over.
If she reads this she will know who she is…
Asking too much of a third world educated and run island. Individuals can make a difference but will never overcome the mass of ignorance that is the culture here. Best you can do is continue to clean the beaches and try not to get run over.
I am curious, why do we not recycle in any of our communities??
Too much effort, not enough help, not enough space, ahhhhhh, it never equals profit for the greedy… figured it out folks… In most of the U S there is a 5 to 15 cent deposit on plastics and carbonated beverages.. Soooo how is this for an idea??
Daniel Johns – What a novel idea! (tongue firmly in cheek). Back in the 1960s & 70s in Cayman one could return a glass soda bottle to the distributor for a penny (later 5 cents).
But like in everything else, Cayman has gone BACKWARDS since those days – too many imported “cultural differences” – people who are used to litter in their own countries! And of course, our own generations influenced by imported culture!
Well since the Gov’t can’t line their pockets, it probably is not at the top of their to do list.. Only the future of our homes depend on it.. Since most landfills here are at, or close to capacity.. It is not a for profit ideal, hence it does not exist here.. Sadly recycling is a money losing proposition, what we do get is cleaner Islands, and a future for the children here.
Daniel Johns, if you ever picked up trash on the beach you would know that the VAST majority of it comes from countries upwind of us – Haiti, DR and Jamaica. Please post your comment on newspapers from those countries if you want to attempt to have an effect on the plastic trash from the ocean. Even though we have some (very minimal, inadequately used) recycling here in CI, that’s not where the beach trash comes from.
We have 300 ft that I clean, and dispose of, yes… Sadly when countries cannot feed, house, medically provide for their citizens, do you realllly think, I use that metaphor, they can do anything with the rubbish they produce… They are poor countries, not one of the most expensive places in the world to live…
I ran a recycling center for over 15 years, it is not difficult, however it is a costly process in machinery purchases, not only that, it tends to lose money…
Don’t say “we”, it might just be “you” that hasn’t figured this out. Recycling has been around nearly 20 years, but it is voluntary, and not collected from your door. Residential communities can set up their own Recycling pads and call Junk to collect it. Bins accept #1 and 2 plastic, clean dry folded paper/cardboard, glass, and aluminium/metal. No wish-cycling. No waxed cardboard. No dog shit bags. No #5 or 6 plastic. No household trash.
NOt sure if that was supposed to be sarcasm or not. I am hugely in favor of recycling and wish Dart the best for the recycling and power generation plant he has been contracted to build. Sadly we only recycle 1 and 2 now, not the rest. And some stories over the years indicate that since the market for recycled materials collapsed, with no place to sell what we do collect (exception for aluminium) it’s not cost effective. But my experience is that little recycling is done as a percantage of the total that even could be recycled. Cultural thing, as has been mentioned before, and CIG making it difficult (i.e., not making it easy) does not encourage those with only mild inclination to recycle.
I am aware, I ran a recycling center for over 15 years, it is not brain surgery, only not profitable. Hence why there is none in existence here in the Islands…
We have choices based on available info and economics. Many households in Cayman have been sorting for over a decade (thank you)…whether that post-consumer waste then gets recycled or sent off island in empty shipping containers, is a worthy question of Public Trust, meriting regular chain of custody audit, and supervision. The volume of material that doesn’t get added to the landfill are statistics that should be regularly published and celebrated as a society.
This is worth a read, the power of misinformation
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled
Guess I’ll have to throw my credit cards in the recycle bin. And then apply for real platinum and gold ones.
idiot
I bet you love your plastic don’t you?
1:33:
Check to see what your keyboard is made of and come back to us.
Seems we all love our plastic, eh?
Amex Plat is Stainless Steel, if you can find merchants that accept it…
Our gallant Plastic Free Cayman warriors have a serious hurdle in front of them, –
https://www.dartcontainer.com/news/newsroom/media-gallery/
What do you think Wayne ? you’re a champion of the environment, ‘we need to reduce our footprint to set an example’ etc can we expect your unconditional support for these guys who are committed to making a difference ? 🚯
The irony doesn’t end there…guess who’s beachfront property these kids are cleaning up!!
In front of my house the plastic is pieces of nets and floats, disposable water and soda bottles, other bottles, flip flops, shoes, 6pack rings, pieces of styrofoam containers, ice chests, etc., sporks and other utensils, in descending order. We get at least as many syringes as straws. I appreciate people’s good intentions but don’t see how these proposals actually accomplish anything. I guess we can feel superior to our poorer neighbors.
NO. Good intentions begin a few people at a time and grow. You can either get aboard or get out of the way.
No, it isn’t feasible to remove ALL plastics, even single use ones, however to remove some of them, even a few is a victory. The people of the future — should we survive to write that future — will look back on this time and shake their heads at how we wrap our food and even *shudder* microwave our food in plastic.
This is a good thing. It shouldn’t be made fun of. Get out there in front of your house with a trash bag and pick up that shit! That’s what I do. Yes, sometimes it feels pointless, as the next few waves will bring in more and more and more.
We make a difference with individual efforts which combine with a whole. Imagine our world without all that trash. Then imagine us making changes that prevented the trash from even developing. This is what these activists envision, and just because some of us are older than the hills doesn’t mean that their view has no value.
So lets get out there. Clean up our mess and the mess of others which floats upon our shores. Yet another reason to spurn cruise ships.
Hold on a second…land owners have responsibilities under the Registered Lands Law to clean and maintain their property. That includes property that begins at and above the high water mark where this trash is deposited. Guess which billionnaire owns a lot of this dutifully volunteer-cleansed beachfront? We need to recognise the ownership of this beautification problem and get him to hire Cayanian work crews and foremen to attend to normal upkeep of his unadvertised property portfolio. Pretending this is still crown land, or that they don’t already have this legal, moral, and environmental duty isn’t a good look.
You are responsible for cleaning up flotsam above the high water mark, not Plastic Free Cayman volunteers. Complaining about your own Registered Lands Law disposal lapses…
Not a breath of a complaint in my post, and I do pick up the debris. No suggestion there that I don’t. My point is that banning plastic straws and such does not bring the goal closer.
4:27pm, get lost you “development bot” hiding behind your false pretenses of being worried about Caymanian unemployment and the high cost of living.
BOTH of this problems are related directly to the type and amount of development that we allow on this little island.
We know your type, so run along now.
While noble and worthy of praise, this is but a drop in a bucket of plastic pollution. The majority of the ocean plastic pollution is from giant commercial fishing nets dragging the ocean floors and destroying the undersea environment.
How many drops make a litre? I’m claiming 20,000 or so. 😀 😀 hard to counter, no?
Point is that these efforts are cumulative.
Clean the country, ban politicians
Make it global and we have a deal!
It starts with you and me.
Agreed. Ditch the masks now.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1069151
Pound sand, Covid denying conspiracy theorist dumdum
50% of all ocean gyre plastics are comprised of discarded commercial fishing nets, line and floats, not straws or single use plastic shopping bags. Everyone eating fish is culpable in that industrial activity, and the bycatch, including our own local sports fishermen, and sushi eating hipsters that don’t care where things come from. There is also very little causality between international ocean flotsam and our local landfill single use inputs, though strong validity to the point about leaching. Like #1/2 and 5/6 plastics, we need to sort these thoughts into tangible actions we can take that yield positive results. Banning single use plastic here, even if we all agree that’s a responsible idea, won’t stop ocean plastic washing up here from somewhere else.
That’s not what washes up in my area. What washes up here is the detritus of humanity — a single flip-flop, numerous plastic bottles, quart oil containers, syringes, jars, condiment containers, grocery bags, LOTS of grocery bags, drink containers, etc. etc.
Agree with you that nothing will stop the washup from other places, but why shouldn’t we deal with it in a positive manner? Should we just shake our heads sadly and say “we can’t keep up?” Hell NO! It matters. I am elderly — at least according to conventional definition. If I can get up off my auld ass and do some positive plastic beach culling, then almost anyone can. You just have to want to.
We just need to understand that there’s no causal relationship between Cayman’s local consumer choices and what gets deposited here at high tide. That doesn’t mean we don’t continue to gather it up, and pursue our own local ban single use. It just means that the reason given for banning single use here shouldn’t be predicated by international beach plastic arguments.
Google “gully/river dumping” related to third world corruption and municipal non-collection issues and you can begin to get an idea of where this stuff originates, the scale, and why those countries residents can’t stop it, or don’t care. Jamaica, directly up current from us, has been wrestling with this for decades.
Hunt’s Bay Ja alone contributing 578,000 kg of plastic into ocean each year: https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/the-ocean-cleanup-is-awarded-1-million-to-combat-jamaicas-highest-polluting-waterway/
Agree, however there is a strong causal relationship between the crap in the bush and on our roads and the people who live here. I didn’t grow up tossing things out of the window of a car, or anywhere else. Who thinks this is normal and/or acceptable??
Beaumont, I agree. So here’s a thought problem, how do we get the beach trash to Dart’s waste to energy plant? Make lemonade from the lemons as it were.
See, now there’s a perfectly good thought experiment in which we brainstorm how to accomplish this. First, though, we would need to establish that the waste-to-energy could adequately process this kind of garbage, and then go from there.
As I see it, much of our problem is that reasonable things are not attended to unless somebody can make a bunch of money from it. Just breaking even is not enough.
I believe this is the primary reason that full-scale recycling doesn’t occur; the will to clean up the islands alone is not enough to spur government to promulgate those programs. Somebody has to hugely profit before it will get off the ground.
Who says he doesn’t?
Maybe we should start with Lateral Flow test kits.
The conspiracy theorist bot has logged on. Pound sand, dummy
A better reply might be to indicated that the majority of the LFTs don’t end up in the ocean. Why? Glad you asked. Because the people using them are mostly RESPONSIBLE.
So it’s only the plastic in the ocean we are worried about, not the landfill?
Is that what you thought I meant, or are you just being contentious?
Take responsibility for whatever plastics that you can. Don’t drop shit on the ground or toss it in the ocean. We can agree that alone would be an improvement, yeah?
Poor children. Don’t stand a chance.
They up against Wayne and his army of environmental terrorists – Mckeeva, Jay, Ian, Handel, Peter, etc.
But not to worry, we will not get sold wolves in sheep clothing again at the next elections!
Wanna bet?
I agree, I will no longer use single use plastic LFT’s!
MAGA Cayman style!
LFT’s could be made from re-cycled material but would cost more and no doubt you would be among the first group to complain about the price. Thousand of them are being used daily in Cayman alone, don’t for one minute think there isn’t a waste problem.
A week’s worth of LFT plastic probably amounts to less than single day of Dominos pizza center box supports. So selectively outraged are we.
First of all very doubtful, but nice try. Secondly consumption of pizza is a choice LFT’s are not.
If the government does not want to be the “bad folks” who BAN the single use plastics, then simply increase the duty on these products to 50%. The cost will have to be passed on and the consumers will very likely stop using them PDQ. If 50% does not do the trick then try 100% duty.
Sure, and we should apply carbon and environmental taxes to meat, fish, sausages, and poultry. These are unpopular ideas.
Plastic Free Cayman, Protect Our Future and the Mangrove Rangers should all be commended for their efforts.
The truth of the situation with the plastics and chemicals that are destroying us and our environment is that big money interests will never allow sufficiently meaningful progress to be made if it will in any way negatively impact on their profits.
Corrupt politicians the world over are really the source of the problem. People aren’t as organized or well financed as large business entities and their lobby groups. Large business entities buy ethically challenged politicians and thereby secure their continued destruction of our environment so that can continue to make money.
Commercial fishing is the main villain
Decades of 3rd world municipal non-collection issues, rats, and habitual gully/river dumping certainly should weigh into this at the CARICOM level.
I have no problem with banning single use plastic, but it only amounts to virtue signaling. It will not clean up your beachs.
It’s a start. We can hardly complain about all the single use plastic washing over from Haiti if we can’t even be bothered to do something about our own use!
Why not? Just don’t throw you shit in the ocean and you are better than Haiti.
There must have been a lot of Haitians sending rubbish here after the last holiday weekend because the east end public beaches looked like someone dropped a trash bomb on them.
Cayman youths we need you more than ever before. Your future is being stolen at a quickening pace.
We have the most environmentally destructive “government” in 20 years.
We have a CPA that will rubber stamp anything that MacKeeva “the development consultant” approves.
Whilst the majority of adult residents seem numb to the continued destruction of our natural environment.
Who is Minister Miller? Enquiring minds want to know.
Doesn’t matter.
Pound sand, dum dum😉
I fully support the efforts of everyone from picking up plastics from the beaches to trying to ban single use plastics. If an island as rich as Cayman can’t lead by example than no one can. Now what the hell are we going to do about these LFT’s? With 2 kids in school with multiple positive classmates we’ve pretty much been testing them daily since before Christmas. I must have thrown 50 test kits away already. Feels horribly wasteful.
Conspiracy bot activated! Pound sand, dumdum
Okay, that’s at least three times you’ve said that. Did you just watch Hidalgo? “Pound Sand”, while sounding really cool and all, is really unproductive. As are insults.
This is where you call me a name, so you can feel better about yourself. OR, maybe think about strategies for mitigating plastics within our contemporary society. WHOA ! what a concept!!!
Us sand pounders have to stick together.
I don’t get it. What conspiracy do you imagine is relevant to throwing away 5 pieces of plastic per kid every morning? “Pound sand”? What are you babbling about?
Your ‘pound sand’ comments are already really boring and sound silly and immature. How old are you? 12?
I’m sure the attention feels good at least.
Pound sand, dum dum😉
A week’s worth of very important LFTs amounts to less than a single day’s worth of discarded single use #5 plastic cutlery packs, #5 beverage cups, and styrofoam take out trays – still sold by the caseloads in our bulk provisioning aisles.
Arguments are seldom convincing or won based on conjecture and stating opinion as fact.