MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – A law passed last week in Mexico City bans plastic bags at commercial establishments and gives them until August 18, 2010, to switch to biodegradable options, the Bureau of National Affairs reports.
The law (No. 656), passed August 18, bans all stores from handing out plastic bags to “transport, handle or package their products.” The law does not specify particular bag types, to which the ban applies and carves out an exception when hygiene is at risk, permitting plastic bags for raw meat or vacuum-packaged goods.
Critics of the law, including the National Association of Plastic Industries, say that plastic bag bans could cost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs while driving up prices at supermarkets to offset expensive biodegradable bags. And Vicente Yanez, president of Mexico’s National Association of Self-Serve and Department Stores, urged the city to tone down the ban.
City officials may yet modify the law by instituting a bag fee instead of outright ban, according to Arnold Ricalde, an environmentalist working in the city.
“This has to be done gradually and in a way that ensures it won't cause a financial crisis,” Ricalde said.
The ban requires local governments to assist plastic manufacturers to help them adopt biodegradable technology. It was signed into law by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard and is the latest effort by his administration to clean up Mexico City.