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Barbados National Action Plan full reportThe Government of Barbados has launched its new National Action Plan to End Plastic Pollution, a landmark step in the country’s journey towards sustainable environmental management.
The plan, developed in partnership with Common Seas, sets out an ambitious, comprehensive roadmap to reducing Barbados’ plastic pollution by 73 percent over the next 10 years.
From production to disposal, plastic threatens the climate, human health, and the sustainability of blue economies.
By taking action today, governments pave the way for a more resilient and healthy future, in preparation for a legally-binding treaty.
Barbados is taking the lead by prioritising the development of a National Action Plan to tackle plastic pollution ahead of a Global Plastics Treaty.
In 2022, Common Seas and the Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, Blue and Green Economy in Barbados entered a partnership to understand the scale of the island’s plastic pollution problem and identify and implement policies to tackle it.
Most of the plastic waste generated in Barbados enters the solid waste management system.
However, these systems have limited capacity and increasing plastic waste generation means Barbados will have to send around 13,408 tonnes of plastic waste to landfill in 2033, 9 percent more than in 2021 under a business-as-usual scenario.
Plastic waste generation is expected to increase by 12% between 2021 and 2033.
Without action, an estimated 4,173 tonnes of plastics will escape from Barbados into the sea between now and 2033 (about two percent of total plastic generation).
If the quantity of plastic waste continues to grow as predicted and recycling rates remain low, Barbados is expected to need to landfill 13,408 tonnes of plastic waste each year by 2033, an increase of 9 percent from 2021.
The following five system-change strategies will help address the key sources of Barbados’ plastic pollution. Analysis using the Plastic Drawdown tool suggests that by 2033, these five strategies have the combined potential to reduce annual plastic pollution in Barbados by 73%.
Plastics pollution in Barbados comprises both macro and microplastics. This action plan focuses on macroplastics pollution, a key element of plastic pollution in Barbados and the fraction that can be tackled with action today.
Action to address microplastics will require careful consideration and international action over the coming years.
Strategy 1 - Tackling Single-use bottles
- Policy 1.1: Relaunch plastic bottle deposit return scheme
- Policy 1.2: Providing water refill points
- Policy 1.3: Phased ban on single-use plastic bottles
Strategy 2 - Single-use plastic bags
- Policy 2.1: Charge on single-use bags
- Policy 2.2: Enhanced ban on single-use bags
Strategy 3 - Other single-use plastic items
- Policy 3.1: Charge on single-use plastic packaging
- Policy 3.2: Reuse system for single-use food service items
Strategy 4 - Implement source separation and extended producer responsibility
- Policy 4.1: Extended Producer Responsibility to support source separation
Strategy 5 - Downstream measures
- Policy 5.1: Enhanced ‘on-the-go’ and ‘bulky’ waste collection to tackle littering and dumping
- Policy 5.2: Enhance enforcement against littering
and dumping - Policy 5.3: Enhance waste transportation, storage
and handling
Plastic pollution is a multi-generational problem. As such, is it vital that we empower and equip future generations, through their schools, to stop the flow of plastic pollution.
Our Education Programme is becoming a cornerstone of our work with governments and has proved an effective way of launching and supporting policy action. In Barbados, we started this process with a Summer Camp in Barbados addressed by the Minister of Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy.
Our education programme continues on the ground in Barbados, providing lesson plans and activities to primary and secondary schools to empower young people to act on the plastics crisis.
