Sylvan Richards, the Minister of the Environment, has opened a waste-to-energy workshop on board the Race for Water vessel.

The solar, wind and hydrogen powered boat is in Bermuda on the first leg of a five-year odyssey to raise awareness and promote new solutions to fight plastic pollution in the oceans.

Today’s workshop attracted local business leaders, Government technical officers, members of non-governmental organisations and Race For Water experts to talk about plastic waste

Mr Richards said that Government was working to fulfil a Throne Speech initiative this year by publishing a Green Paper on the problem of plastics in the environment.

“We hope to be able to forge a lasting relationship with the Race For Water Foundation as we develop effective policies for combating plastics that are filling our oceans,” he added.

“We can no longer regard the problem of ocean plastics as an academic exercise. We only need to go to the shoreline to see the evidence for ourselves.”

In addition to the workshop today, Race For Water experts are holding workshops for middle and high school students from June 8 to June 13.

The workshops are designed to increase awareness of the growing epidemic of plastic pollution in the oceans and explore new ways improve the prospects for oceans in generations to come.

The Race for Water vessel next heads for the Caribbean as it circumnavigates the globe.