rishard.khan@guardian.co.tt
Public response to the glass bottle ban during Carnival celebrations has been mostly positive. Citizens approached for comment yesterday said the move will make the festivities safer.
“It makes sense because safety is priority and glass bottles are very dangerous to people, especially when they get excited and like to throw things all over the place,” Isaiah Trotman said.
Deborah Wheeler shared a similar view: “I think it’s a great idea because when people drink, they tend to get on wild and they tend to stab people with the bottles.”
In 2010, during his term as Port-of-Spain mayor, Louis Lee Sing proposed the ban but it was not implemented until 2020. He said he was happy to see it being implemented for this year’s celebration.
“I hope they will find a way to do it in an extended way. I hope too that it would become a norm at all public events which is to say if you’re having a major concert in a stadium or something like that glass bottles be prohibited,” he said.
Sean Griffith, General Counsel and Head of External Affairs at Carib Brewery, said the company supports the ban..
“We understand that part of the reason, or the driving force behind the ban, is to decrease the possibility of any kind of damage or injury that would result from the improper use of glass bottles. We see this as being a very noble gesture on the part of the Government,” he said.
Griffith said in preparation for the ban the brewery will be ramping up production and supply of alternative containers for beverages such as cans. He said Carib also plans to work with vendors who will be pouring from glass bottles to ensure it’s a “safe Carnival for all involved.”
While plastic bottles would appear to be the next best option for holding beverages, a member of the public, Wendy Dumas-John, wants to see something implemented to collect the garbage after events.
“At least put some big dumpsters and stuff so people could throw the garbage in because then you’d have plastic bottles everywhere and in the end of the day, where would those plastic bottles end up? In the drains,” she said.