Goodbye to plastic in San Andrés and Canada
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In order to protect the environment, by 2021, the North American country and the Latin American island will have abolished the single-use plastics
The fight against plastic is becoming more and more arduous. Throughout the world, different cities and countries have banned single-use plastic such as cigarettes, disposable cutlery, glasses, among others. This is the case of Colombia and Canada, countries that seek to prevent the degradation of flora and fauna due to the contamination of this compound. Both nations announced that by 2021 the use of this type of plastic will be prohibited.
Leer en español: Adiós al plástico en San Andrés y Canadá
San Andrés and Providencia free of disposable plastic
In the Colombian case, the decision was made specifically for the islands of San Andrés and Providencia. The fifth commission of the Senate approved a bill that seeks to prohibit plastic in the Colombian archipelago. The project aims to stop using products such as glasses, plates, cutlery and cigarettes made with plastic and which are usually used only once. The measure would protect the flora and fauna of the island, which have been affected by the contamination of this material.
The law will pass to conciliation and later, President Iván Duque will have to sanction it so that it becomes effective. Guillermo García Realpe, project rapporteur and senator of the Liberal party, explained that the ban will be progressive since there will be a period of two years to replace these products with some made of biodegradable materials. That is, by 2021 the island would be free of single-use plastic.
Besides prohibiting this material, the bill contemplates that ships from other nations can not deposit solid waste -including plastic- in Colombian territory. García hopes that the proposal can be extended to other regions of the territory, especially the Colombian Pacific and Caribbean.
Also read: What is the right to clean air?
Canada says goodbye to single-use plastics
By 2021, as in Colombia, Canada would be free of "coast to coast" plastic, as announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Among the prohibited elements are cigarettes, bottles, bags, cutlery and lids.
In a statement, Trudeau said that "plastic waste ends up in our landfills and incinerators, covers our parks and beaches, and pollutes our rivers, lakes, and oceans, entangles and kills turtles, fish, and marine mammals." The Canadian government has reported that annually one million birds and more than 100 thousand mammals die or suffer injuries when ingesting plastic, as they confuse it with food.
The decision is inspired by the measure taken by the European Parliament on the prohibition of single-use plastics that includes a project to recycle 90% of the bottles that pack plastic beverages for 2029.
Catherine McKenna, Canada's minister of environment and climate change, said that "we have all seen the disturbing images of fish, sea turtles, whales and other wild animals injured or dying due to plastic debris in our oceans."
LatinAmerican Post | Marcela Peñaloza
Translated from "Adiós al plástico en San Andrés y Canadá"
