STAKEHOLDERS have expressed serious reservations concerning the Beverage Container Bill and are calling for a review before it is implemented.

The bill drew criticism from many in the bottling industry at a stakeholders consultation at the Environmental Management Authority's offices in St Clair yesterday with many calling for a bill that was both workable and practical, prompting Minister of Planning, Housing and the Environment Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde to propose roundtable discussions with stakeholders next week.

The piece of legislation is intended to improve and encourage the reuse or recycling of beverage containers in Trinidad and Tobago. It is also geared to discouraging the harmful practice of disposing empty beverage containers into the environment. The bill has a long history, it was first drafted in 2000, and encourages companies to collect empty plastic and glass containers for recycling.

Head of the beverage sector for ANSA McAL, Andrew Sabga, noted that while the bill was long overdue, he questioned whether it will accomplish what it sets out to do. He made specific reference to the fines as stated in the bill.

"I observe that the purpose of this is to get the containers off the streets and out of the water courses, I am not 100 per cent sure that this bill will deliver what it is saying now in light of the fact that the fines seem to be fairly weak...it may actually be cheaper to pay the fines than to adhere to the regulations," he said.

Sabga said another area of concern was the deposit levy on imported beverage containers as outlined in the bill which he said was smaller and weaker than other countries in the region. According to the bill an amount called a deposit levy must be charged and collected on every filled beverage container imported into Trinidad and Tobago. He stressed that this area should be looked at closely.

Sabga also pointed out that the bill does not make provision for alcoholic beverages which he said must be included as 2.5 million bottles, especially spirits end up in landfills on a monthly basis.

A representative from Blue Waters, Bob Ramchan, called for further consultations to make sure that the bill is practical. He said despite meetings that the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers' Association held with the EMA, few recommendations coming out of the meetings were actually included in the bill. He added that as it stands there are no real incentives included in the bill for business people.

Dick-Forde said the bill must be implemented later on this year and expected that subsequent roundtable discussions will lead to a resolution to some matters.