Dominica Provides Entire Population With Plastic-Free Bags in Bid for Complete Plastic Ban

ROSEAU, Dominica, Feb. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica announces today that it will provide all households on the island with jute and cotton bags to use as a sustainable alternative to plastic bags.

The 'Go Green Dominica' initiative follows a comprehensive ban on all single-use plastic and Styrofoam containers, effective January 2019, and the application of 0% import duty on authenticated biodegradable products and reusable shopping bags as of December 2018.

Visitors to the island are encouraged to adopt the Dominican way of life, which is deeply rooted in caring for the natural environment. The island's ecotourism sector is flourishing as new eco-conscious luxury resorts continue being developed thanks to Dominica's world-leading Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme. Hoteliers work with their local communities to provide guests with ethically sourced, fresh produce. Meanwhile, individuals and families from around the world continue to support Dominica's journey towards climate resilience by obtaining its citizenship via the CBI Programme.

In 2017, category-five Hurricane Maria hit Dominica and caused damages worth more than twice its GDP, at a time when the island was still recovering from Storm Erika in 2015. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit famously said at the United Nations General Assembly in New York days after Maria made landfall: "72,000 Dominicans lie on the frontline of a war they did not choose with extensive casualties from a war that they did not start […] While the big countries talk, the small island nations suffer. We need action and we need it now."

Ever since, the Dominican government has directed hundreds of millions towards economic transition and recovery efforts. Besides major infrastructural rehabilitation and reinforcement, entire dislocated communities have been offered free modern homes, newly built in safer areas, able to withstand the harshest weather disasters. This is known as the 'Housing Revolution' and will comprise 5,000 units across the island. Soon, Dominica's whole population will also be provided with green energy from the geothermal plant currently being developed, with potential to share it with its neighbouring islands.

Dominica inches closer to its ambitious goal to become the world's first climate-resilient nation, as pledged by PM Skerrit after 2017's Hurricane Maria. He believes that, as the Nature Isle of the Caribbean, Dominica "must in every way preserve and reflect that designation."

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