The Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, Beyond Plastic and Butterfield have joined forces to host a four-part webinar series to help small and medium-sized businesses to start planning for the transition away from single-use plastics.

The free, hour-long webinars will educate business owners on the proposed details and expected phases of legislation, identify resources to assist with the transition and provide practical options for alternatives and new vendor relationships.

Jamillah Lodge, BEDC communication and development director, said: “This webinar series is a proactive approach to provide business owners with a forum to learn and discuss how they can best approach the transition.

“We know that many of our stakeholders currently use a range of items which they might not be able to going forwards and it’s important to understand the impact on current stock and future importation, distribution and use of products.”

Katie Berry, team leader at Beyond Plastic, said the initiative will help companies to navigate the implications of the proposed legislation.

The webinar series will start on Thursday at 12.30pm and will take place every other Thursday until April 21.

The dates and topics are:

March 10, The perils of plastics: Why plastic is bad and why legislation is necessary;

March 24, Break free from plastics: What can we do to move away from single-use plastics and what are the alternatives?;

April 7, Plastic free future: What are the opportunities for new business models and innovative solutions? A look at Bermuda case studies;

April 21, Rethink waste: What else can be done to improve business waste in Bermuda and what are the benefits?

Business owners are invited to register for each of the webinars at the BEDC website, under courses and events, at www.bedc.bm.

The Beyond Plastic campaign is a collaborative campaign by BEST and KBB led by a volunteer team whose goal is to support the Bermudian community by increasing awareness and providing education on alternatives to single-use plastics as well as providing updates on the Government’s SUP policies.