Earth Day 2021

In observance of Earth Day 2021, members of the Environmental Policy and Planning Division were featured live on CNC3’s The Morning Brew, hosted by Jessie-May Ventour. This presented an opportunity for technical staff to share insights into the work undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Development on several areas of environmental interest, namely Climate Change, Biodiversity, Ozone and Waste and Chemicals. 

Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh (Head, Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit) and Ms. Sindy Singh (Climate Change Specialist), featured above, collaboratively addressed questions regarding the urgency for climate action, Trinidad and Tobago's obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and work done locally to achieve the country's obligations via a portfolio of projects. Watch interview here. 

Dr. Lena Dempewolf (Biodiversity Specialist) and Mr. Julius Smith (Environmental Biologist), featured above, addressed questions relating to the importance of conserving biological diversity and the sustainable management and use of land resources respectively. Both were presented with the opportunity to share insights in to the country's obligations under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Dr. Dempewolf outlined several benefits to the country which have resulted from projects that have been successfully implemented and made mention of future projects. Watch interview here. 

Dr. Marissa Gowrie (Deputy Environmental Manager/National Ozone Officer) was featured next who raised awareness of the measures that have been implemented by Government to reduce and eliminate the use of harmful ozone depleting substances. Dr. Gowrie also touched on the country's obligations under the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment which has resulted in a ban on the importation of some ozone depleting substances. The certification scheme for refrigeration and air conditioning technicians was also discussed. Watch interview here. 

EPPD's segment ended with valuable contributions from Ms. Keima Gardiner (Waste Management Specialist) and Ms. Tushara Maharaj (Environmental Engineering Specialist) who both spoke about waste and chemical management in Trinidad and Tobago. Ms. Gardiner highlighted The Stop the POPs! communication campaign which has been designed to heighten the awareness of citizens of the dangers of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Ms. Gardiner explained that POPs may be present in items such as fire retardant clothing, drapes and other common household items hence the importance of the communication campaign. Ms. Maharaj touched on the importance of having relevant and reliable environmental data to facilitate informed policy development and decision making. Watch interview here. 

The EPPD joins other local state agencies in commemorating Earth Day 2021 and encourage you to incorporate sustainable practises in your day to day undertakings!

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

- Robert Swan

Stakeholder Consultation-National Standard on Biodegradable Materials

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

Import and Export Licensing System for Hazardous Waste Approved

 

On October 25, 2018, Cabinet agreed to amend the Import and Export Negative Lists to include hazardous waste listed under the Basel Convention, as a mechanism to provide legislative support to the Convention’s implementation.

 The EPPD would have initiated and spearheaded this long and arduous process through the hosting of a series of meetings with key stakeholders and providing technical input to the draft legal notices. After several years this eventually culminated in their finalisation and the publishing of the amendments.

 In effect, these amendments create a regulatory mechanism to monitor and control the movement of hazardous waste entering and exiting the country, by way of documentation and issuance of a licence for the hazardous wastes being transported. Additionally, they aid in restricting the transboundary movement and unwarranted transit of hazardous wastes across the country’s borders. This is a significant regulatory measure, particularly in the absence of comprehensive domestic legislation.

 The Basel Convention was developed in response to the problems caused by the dramatic rise in the cost of disposal of hazardous wastes, which made it more cost effective for developed countries to dispose of their hazardous waste by shipping it to developing countries and to Eastern Europe, leading to impacts to human and environmental health. The treaty was therefore established to regulate the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and imposes obligations on Parties to ensure that such waste are managed and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.