Press release -
No More Single Use Plastics in the Galapagos Islands
Quito, September 20th, 2018
3 Months after banning single use plastics from the Galapagos Islands, the Ecuador government is running an educational campaign with the intent to implement the same policy in mainland Ecuador.
On April 25th, 2018 the Galapagos National Park Authority announced the enforcement of a new policy regarding the use of plastic disposable bags, bottles, Styrofoam containers and straws. The goal of this strategy is primarily to protect the environment; and also, for public health, according to Mrs. Lorena Tapia, member of the insular government.
The new regulations will be implemented in stages based on this schedule:
Based on this policy, neither travelers or service providers can use or introduce:
- Beginning May 22 – No disposable plastic bottles or any non-returnable bottles, e., water bottles.
- From June 21 – No disposable plastic bags (usually used for carrying groceries)
- Starting July 21 – No Styrofoam containers for storage and carrying prepared food.
- From August 21 – No disposable straws.
With this new policy, both the Galapagos Directorate and the Environmental Ministry expect to minimize the impact that disposable plastic products are having on the fragile ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands. In fact, according to the Galapagos Science Center managed by the USFQ and North Carolina University, almost 20 species within the archipelago have been affected by swallowing or entanglement with these materials.
Related links
Topics
- Travels
Categories
- travel
- ecotourism
- ecology
- single use plastic
- galapagos islands
Small incoming tour operator for Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Latin Trails works with luxury travel agents and outbound travel firms across the world serving a as local representative in Ecuador. The company crafts custom experiences, curates small boutique hotels, guides and transportation allowing outbound companies to offer highly personalized travel programs to their clients. Latin Trails operates 2 yachts in the Galapagos Islands - the Sea Star Journey being an upmarket mega yacht and the Seaman Journey a first class catamaran. Recently the company added ILLA Experience Hotel to its portfolio, a groundbreaking property raising the bar in small scale hoteliering - 9 months after opening it has been feature in Time magazine, New York Times and National Geographic Luxury collection amongst other important media. The business is family owned and is incorporating the second generation, therefore there is more to come in terms of creating unique travel experiences in such a diverse country as Ecuador.
