Town Hall to Highlight Next Steps Towards Single-Use Plastic Reduction

SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Addressing the critical issues of single-use plastic pollution, the St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF), alongside the Government of St. Maarten, is hosting a significant town hall meeting.

Scheduled for March 18th at 6 PM taking place at the University of St. Martin, Rooms 202-203. This gathering serves as a crucial platform for community stakeholders to express their concerns, share insights, and discuss the forthcoming proposals intended to minimize the use of single-use plastics and polystyrene foam items on the island.

The Plastic Free SXM initiative is accelerating efforts to phase out single-use plastics and Styrofoam, building on existing legislation aimed at reducing these materials. The upcoming town hall meeting is an essential chance for local businesses to understand the impact of this legislation on their operations and to learn about the timelines for phasing out these materials.

The town hall will highlight the initiative's data gathering on plastic usage, including visits by data collectors to residents. This essential data collection will shape strategies to mitigate the environmental impact of single-use plastics.

Melanie Choisy, Program Development Manager for SMDF, underscores the critical need for community involvement: 'The impact of single-use plastics on our health and environment cannot be overstated.

Tackling this issue requires your active participation. Existing legislation serves as our foundation, but the Plastic-Free SXM Initiative seeks to intensify these efforts, aiming for more robust enforcement.

Contributions from everyone, including local businesses and individual advocates, are essential as we refine our approach and work towards phasing out single-use plastics from our island.

The Plastic Free SXM initiative warmly encourages everyone to join the upcoming town hall and help push forward the vision of a plastic-free St. Maarten. For further details and to sign up for the town hall, please visit tinyurl.com/plasticfreesxm or reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. directly.

The Plastic-Free SXM initiative, executed by the St. Maarten Development Fund on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten, aims to cultivate more environmentally conscious behaviors through active community engagement, legislative reform, in-depth research, and strict enforcement.

The project is financed by the RESEMBID program, funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France, the development cooperation agency of the French government. The RESEMBID program actively supports sustainable human development across 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories, including St. Maarten.