What problem is bottle ban trying to solve?

THE EDITOR: I noted with some amusement all the hoopla surrounding the ban on glass bottles for Carnival. I looked at the head table and saw all the top law enforcement players present. One could be forgiven for thinking this was a high-level meeting to discuss how to curb the rampant murder rate. But, no, it was to wage war against hapless, healthy glass bottles.

Seems like the Police Commissioner has given up on catching real criminals so he’s going after those who prefer to drink their water from a glass bottle rather than a toxic plastic one. But aren’t we supposed to be discouraging the use of unhealthy plastic? Seems like the right hand does not understand what the left hand is doing.

Even if a few people were to get injured from broken glass, many more would be murdered in the same period. And that’s the problem I wish the commissioner would concentrate on solving, not threaten officers who don’t come out to enforce the ban on glass bottles. The police should simply be available in case they are needed, not in your face all the time, or searching bags for glass bottles.

It wasn’t clear if the ban is on glass bottles only but not on glass, in general.

Without a ban on glass bottles, Carnival 2019 was declared the safest ever. So what problem are we trying to solve in 2020 with this ban? I surmise it’s to boost the sales of plastic-bottled water.

This is not a national security issue. It’s a commercial one, a move to encourage the use of single-use plastic bottles, the strings being pulled by the big players in the bottled-water industry.

I find it difficult to believe that “safety” is the overriding factor behind this move. Except for the years when a few steelbands “clashed,” Carnival has always been safe, with 2019 the safest. So tell me again, what problem is this ban designed to solve?

Perhaps the commissioner should consider letting officers stay home for Carnival but come out in full force the rest of the year, when they are really needed.

A CHARLES

Mt Hope

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"What problem is bottle ban trying to solve?"

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