Barbados Joins String of Caribbean Islands Ditching Plastics

Barbados is the latest Caribbean nation to announce a ban on single-use plastics.

The island nation of 286,000 people will bar the import, use, and sale of single-use plastics and polystyrene foam, commonly referred to as Styrofoam, as of April 1.

Single-use plastic bags will be banned starting Jan. 1, 2020, but Barbados is allowing exceptions in certain cases, such as packaging for medical and food products.

Nine Caribbean countries now have banned or imposed taxes on plastics and polystyrene as part of effort to clean up the environment and safeguard economies.

The government has high environmental expectations ...