Caribbean countries are stepping up efforts to curb the use of single-use plastic, a major threat to the ocean waters that in multiple ways buoy their economies. Building on the Clean Seas Campaign launched by the United Nations in 2017, Barbados, The Bahamas and Dominica will implement complete bans on single-use plastic starting on Jan. 1, and Grenada is scheduled to put a ban in place the following month. In doing so, they will join other Caribbean nations that already have imposed such measures, among them Jamaica, Belize, St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda. At stake is the health of the Caribbean Sea, which according to the UN’s environmental arm has the second highest level of plastics pollution in the world after the Mediterranean—600 to 1,412 plastic items per square kilometer. In imposing the new restrictions, Caribbean countries aim to address their dubious distinction as world leaders... [Log in to read more]