The Attorney-General’s Chambers will soon draft legislation to phase out single-use plastics, the Minister of Home Affairs said yesterday.

Walter Roban made the announcement as he addressed the fourth annual Youth Climate Summit.

He said that a draft version of the Bill would be available for public consultation before being passed into law.

Mr Roban said he was “passionate about using the resources at my disposal to protect our environment while encouraging the growth and development of green initiatives”.

“As Bermuda's future leaders, you must be knowledgeable and have a say in our chosen path.”

Legislative plans to ban single-use plastics were announced in the 2018 Speech from the Throne, with the goal to eliminate them by 2022.

Although the timeline was adjusted, a promise came in July to bring forward the legislation before the end of the year.

Mr Roban said the Bill focused on the environment and human health, with a realistic phase-out timeline top of the list.

He said allowances would be made for medical items or cases where single-use plastics came with no alternatives.

During the presentation at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, Mr Roban also touched on measures to ensure cleaner air.

He said that limits for contaminants listed in Bermuda’s Clean Air Regulations would be updated for the first time in more than 30 years.

Enforceable quality standards and target levels will now fall in line with those set in Britain and the European Union.

The home affairs minister gave attendees a rundown of the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Plan and its accompanying Blue Belt Ocean Shield programme for enforcement.

He said updates had been made to strengthen water resource protections by cracking down on ground pollution and the dumping of sewage and contaminants into the ocean.

Mr Roban told the summit that, while efforts were continuing, the Bermuda Government was ready to throw its weight behind protecting the environment.

He added: “The successful implementation of these initiatives will create economic opportunities, improve living standards and, most importantly, protect and preserve our environment for future generations.

“As the saying goes, ‘We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children’.”

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