Dear Editor,

I would like to thank Brother Colin Hyde for remembering my struggle for the single- use plastics. My issue really was that GOB, by way of DOE, was pushing bio-degradable plastic products over regular plastic products even though they were much more costly.

I argued that the lower income food vendors and consumers would feel the pinch.

At the last meeting with DOE, an expert in these things, Dr. Kelvin Okamoto, explained to us that these products were of no benefit to the environment if the proper facilities were not in place. Belize is at a minimum, five to ten years away from these facilities.

The prices on biodegradable products are slowly coming down, and the time will come when they might even be cheaper than regular plastic. We can surely wait for that without punishing our consumers.

With this pandemic, we need to save on prices more than ever, but the date for the ban is April 15, 2020.

On another note, I can see why this pandemic is causing havoc worldwide; people don’t seem to care before it hits. As soon as the San Pedro scare was over, most people went back to taking this virus lightly.

Here in Orange Walk, you can see them moving around nonchalantly. If GOB does not prod the police to enforce the regulations, we can prepare for bad times. Ask the Italians, Spaniards, and now the Americans.

Stay the f—k at home, but If you can’t stay home and have to go out: wear a (clean) mask, keep your distance, and wash your hands. When you get home, leave your shoes outside and take a bath. Do not shake the clothes you take off, and wash them.

If GOB does not mandate that everyone wear a mask in public, “a lot of people that you know are going to die”.

I repeat, the mask is not exclusively geared at protecting you, but it can also stop the ones who are infected from spreading it, which is the real problem.

Damn, what will it take to beat this into GOB’s thick skull?

These are the main recommendations, plus all other hygienic measures.

Regards,
Romel Cuello