Business Day Editorial: What incentive to go green?

It’s easy to say “let’s ban plastic” as a panacea for pollution, but monumental policy shifts that require a change in behaviour and culture require time and, most importantly, a desire, willingness and impetus to change.

People respond to incentives. If you can explain what’s in it for them, chances are, you’ll get better buy-in.

In TT, despite grand statements about environmental protection, the population feels a fundamental lack of urgency about adopting proposed changes – because there’s no incentive. Now, call it a culture of entitlement where citizens feel it’s the State’s responsibility to take care of things like waste collection and processing, but at the core, it’s just easier for people to throw things away instead of considering other options, like recycling.

One of the hardest things to find in TT, even if you are willing to recycle, is an iCare recycling bin.

The Ministry of Planning, which oversees the programme, has a list of locations, but for places that are not Port of Spain, those drop-off points are few, far between, and sometimes nonexistent. Recycling is also purely voluntary, so there’s no personal benefit to using these bins – or penalty for not doing so.

Then there’s legislative clout. People very rarely take environmental policies and even legislation seriously, either because they don’t seriously believe it will be enforced, or because it’s just easier to ignore. Litter fines were increased by 100 per cent as of January, but a cursory glance outside would suggest that rule is being flagrantly flouted.

Successive governments have also not put environmental protection high on their list of priorities. The Beverage Container Bill, for example, has been languishing for decades, yet every rainy season people lament clogged waterways obstructed by plastic bottles.

Even the ban on imported Styrofoam products lacks verve, because while the ban went into effect in February, alternatives are still slapped with the 20 per cent duty that make those compostable products comparatively more expensive than locally manufactured Styrofoam products.

And TT only last year signed the Paris Accord for climate change action, but understandably, as an economy dependent on the hydrocarbon sector and cheap fuel, policy implementation is slow.

But government can’t do everything – the private sector can take the lead. “Going green” has been a marketing buzzword for years, but few companies have stepped up to the challenge in any meaningful way. Massy Stores has been at the forefront in TT, charging 50 cents per plastic bag, but, more importantly, giving consumers the option to bring their own bags, buy a Massy reusable bag or just pay for plastic. The company has claimed it has eliminated 18 million single-use plastic bags from circulation since the programme started. It also gave people an incentive to earn points when they recycle plastic bottles and cans at special machines – with over half a million cans and nearly two million plastic bottles exchanged so far.

Unfortunately, these machines are only available in three outlets in the west, again excluding most of the population. But it’s a start, and importantly, is an example of incentives and people’s willingness to change if presented with viable options.

TT is the most advanced economy in the Caribbean, yet in terms of environmental protection, it falls behind.

Antigua has banned single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam since 2016. Jamaica, Grenada and Barbados all introduced single-use plastic bans this year and Dominica has famously made climate resilience part of its development strategy after devastating hurricanes in 2017.

The pace of TT’s policy adoption and implementation is glacial. That needs to change. It’s time we reclaimed our mantle of leadership.