40+ Groups Want ‘Shilling Wata’ Banned in Belize

A coalition of more than 40 organisations, institutions, and businesses is calling for a three-year national ban on what is commonly known as “shilling wata” in Belize.

A letter submitted this week to the Minister of Sustainable Development Orlando Habet and Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai adds dozens of new supporters to an earlier proposal first delivered in April. The amended list of signatories was submitted on Thursday, and it now includes the University of Belize, Galen University, the Belize Audubon Society, Oceana, the Belize Zoo, the Belize Territorial Volunteers, and multiple tourism and conservation organisations.

The coalition argues that the “shilling wata” pouch has become one of Belize’s “most problematic plastic products currently in circulation, found blowing across, across community streets, in canals and rivers, on school campuses and even on the bottom of the sea floor.”

“These pouches are made of low-density plastic materials that are not recyclable, cannot be recovered through existing waste management systems and practices and releases complex forms of microplastics into our marine ecosystems, fresh waterways, and soil,” it said, adding that this type of waste cannot be recycled through Belize’s existing waste management systems.

The coalition is proposing a clear timeline. In year one, a ban on water pouches in all government buildings and at government-sanctioned events. In year two, a ban within schools. By year three, a complete national ban on the production, importation, distribution, and sale of water pouches across Belize, which supporters say would give producers, distributors and consumers time to adapt.