Plastic pollution, particularly from single-use plastics, is a burgeoning global issue, with an estimated 8 million tonnes leaking into the ocean annually. Trinidad and Tobago faces similar pollution challenges, including from expanded polystyrene (EPS), commonly called styrofoam. To this end, the Government has taken action to address the issue at the national scale, through most notably a Cabinet decision to ban the importation of finished expanded polystyrene products in the food and beverage sector.
In lieu of this, and as a mechanism to support Government’s policy and ensure verification of the claims of biodegradability and compostability, a request was made to the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) by the Ministry to develop a national standard for alternative products to EPS. To this end, the TTBS established a multi-stakeholder National Mirror Committee which drafted the “Trinidad and Tobago Compulsory Standard on Biodegradable Materials – Food-Contact Single-Use Products and Packaging – Compulsory Requirements.” As part of its development, the TTBS hosted a public online stakeholder Consultation on Tuesday 1st December 2020 to discuss the standard.
Ms. Keima Gardiner, Waste Management Specialist and member of the National Mirror Committee was invited by the TTBS to present at the Stakeholder Consultation and to participate in a panel discussion. Her presentation which was entitled: ‘Biodegradable Materials in the Food and Beverage Sector- A National Perspective’, focused on the role of the Ministry as it relates to the management of plastics, the national perspective on biodegradable products, and the importance of the National Standard in building and assuring sustainability and ensuring product conformity
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