Starting December 1st, 2022, STRICTER MEASURES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE BAN ON DISPOSABLE PLASTIC
Disposable plastic shopping bags, stirrers, straws, cutlery, and Styrofoam meal trays may not be sold or given away on Bonaire. You will receive a warning and/or fine for violating this ban. Inspectors from the Directorate of Supervision and Enforcement have inspected 50 catering establishments, 5 peddlers, several supermarkets, and wholesalers in recent months.
During the inspections, several companies were made aware of the ban on single-use plastic. A large part of companies adheres to the ban. Unfortunately, there are still companies that violate the single-use/disposable plastic ban. Companies that do not comply with the ban will receive a formal warning letter from December 1st 2022. This warning has a period of one week. The company then has a week to comply with the ban. If the company does not keep to the agreements, they will be charged a fine for each day they were in default. This is called a ‘compulsory order’. The company will receive the fine after a week. The amount of the fine depends on the size of the company. For example, a small business (1-5 employees) may receive up to a total of $2,000 in fines. A company can get a total of 4 “fines”. The first violation is $200, the second violation is $400, the third violation is $600, and the fourth violation is $800.
BONHATA urges all members to abide by this to avoid unnecessary fines.
For more information, please contact plasticvrij@bonairegov.com.