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The Tobago House of Assembly says it is taking steps to phase out the use of styrofoam on the island and is working with the private sector to do so on a voluntary basis.
THA official Linford Beckles told a Joint Select Committee of Parliament inquiring into waste management policies that while under the current constitutional arrangements the THA did not have the legislative clout to make changes, it was working outside the ambit of the law to address the problem.
He said while there were currently no taxes on styrofoam products coming into T&T, there were taxes on “environmental friendly alternatives,” which he said did not “align with environmental ideals and there was clear need for that to be addressed.”
One of the ways, according to Beckles, is through legislation.
He said: “It is incumbent on us to make structured appeals to our counterparts in Trinidad to assist in this initiative.”
Beckles said there was a willingness to work in that direction. He said the THA was currently working with the Castara Tourism Association to make Castara the first styrofoam free village. The assembly is also working with the Crown Point Partnership Association to make Crown Point a much greener area, and the expectation was that on World Environment Day a few businesses would totally phase out the use of styrofoam and turn to alternatives.
Beckles said the THA was looking at two alternatives to replace the styrofoam, one bagasse based and the other corn based, both of which originated from the United States.
He said the Ministry of Planning was working with corporate interests who produced styrofoam to assist in retooling plants to manufacture the containers in Trinidad and Tobago.
Director of Operations of Ace Recycling Kevin Clarke told the Committee that the company was the largest waste paper recycling plant in the country and recycled 14 million pounds of paper annually.
He said the paper was collected at various locations throughout the country, brought back to the facility, sorted into grades, bailed into half tonne bales, and shipped across the world to be used as feedstock.
The cost per metric tonne for the paper is between US$50 to US$300 depending on the grade.
The company also supplies material to the tissue mill at the Arima Industrial Estate.
“They take the higher grade paper to make a recycled product,” Clarke said.