Countries have begun passing laws to reduce the use of this material

A series of natural disaster that have affected Latin America and they have been considered a consequence of global warming. Due to this, the president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet created a new law on the environment that can eliminate the plastic bag in coastal zone in that country.

This initiative will be debated in congress in October and there will have to be a twelve month wait for it to be operational. The objective of this law is to protect marine species and cut down ocean pollution.

Read also: Colombia bans small plastic bags’ distribution

This law is a good environment progress in Latin America, because it does not only reduce the use of plastic bags, but rather bans it, like in Europe, where for years the marine ecosystem has been a concern. The European Union has been fighting the plastic bag since 2013.

According to the European Commission, in 2017 plastic bag use cut down by 50% and in 2019 it is expected to reach 80%. The cuts have been achieved through penalties and taxes and by teaching citizens of Europe about the harmful consequences the use of this material brings.

Read also: Guatemala’s market is replacing plastic bags with plantain leaves

This new Chilean law is the beginning of legislation on the care of the environment in Latin America in the recycling policies, ecological automobiles, care of green areas and many other matters that have already been implemented in other parts of the world.

Latin American Post | Vivian Viacava

Copy edited by Laura Rocha Rueda