Meet Seaside Breeze Restaurant and Coffee House owner John Carey

Meet John Carey of Seaside Breeze Restaurant and Coffee House!

John Carey and his wife Erica Saunders, are owners of Seaside Breeze Restaurant and Coffee House in Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera. Seaside Breeze offers Starbucks coffee, fresh conch salad, wings, drinks, and more. I sat down with Mr. Carey to discuss business as it relates to the 2020 plastic ban. You can find the transcript from the interview below. ~Thank you Mr. Carey

Molly: Good afternoon Mr. Carey. Thank you for sitting down with me. First tell me about your business?

John: Good afternoon, we are Seaside Breeze Restaurant and Coffee House here in Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera.

Molly: Jumping right in, what do you think would be some challenges facing your business if they decide to ban plastic.

John: Well at the moment, recyclables are very expensive to import and purchase. Plastic is cheap, affordable, and even more accessible. Not too many wholesalers sell recyclables.

Molly: As far as disposal, are there places on island where you are able to dispose recyclables if they ban plastic? Do/will they collect them? How do they deal with plastic waste now?

John: Just the local landfill. There’s no real recycling programs. There have been attempts to start one or two but it hasn’t really got on.

Molly: What do you think they government could do to even make recyclables feasible for a business? What would they have to do?

John: Well, they need to start from their own garbage collection to give us avenues to have say, three different bins for plastic, glass, and plastic bottles. We don’t have that system right now, everything’s just lumped into one. One receivable, one garbage can and taken to the landfill.

Molly: What about fishing? Do you think they are going to do anything as far as sustainable fishing and releasing plastics in the ocean?

John: As a captain, whenever I am on a board a boat, or vessel as crew or guest. No one is allowed to dispose of plastics. They have to hold onto it and dispose of it on land. With the means that we have available, no waste is dumped into the ocean. However, many people still dispose their trash onto the shoreline. I think we need more education for captains or anyone who is on a boat, or along the shoreline. We need to encourage them to dispose of plastics properly into a receptacle, instead of throwing it on land or in the ocean.

Molly: What about tourist? Do you believe you also need to teach them while they are visiting?

John: Yes. I think signage helps as well as putting out garbage cans for public access and public use. On the water, you need more education. There is not much control out there. Whoever is in charge of the boat should be in charge of the trash and plastic. They are responsible for proper disposed on their boat.

Molly: Great, this is the last question… What is your favorite thing about your country? What is your favorite part?

John: You know it may sound clique, but can you beat sun, sand, and sea as a way to live? You know it’s cool for a visit, but I would come back for this everyday.

Molly: Thank you Mr. Johnny for sitting down with me. Good luck to Erica and yourself!