Page 38 - Plastics News August 2018

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

France to set penalties on non- 4XHUpWDUR EHJLQV 0H[LFR V ¿UVW

recycled plastic bag ban in a major city

rance plans to introduce a penalty system next year exico City — Querétaro, a large industrial city
Fthat would increase the costs of consumer goods Min central Mexico, imposed a bag ban in all
with packaging made of non-recycled plastic, part of a
pledge to use only recycled plastic nationwide by 2025, FRPPHUFLDO HVWDEOLVKPHQWV $XJ EHFRPLQJ WKH ÀUVW
major municipality in Mexico to take such action.
DQ HQYLURQPHQW PLQLVWU\ RIÀFLDO VDLG %UXQH 3RLUVRQ The prohibition is part of a wider environmental
secretary of state for ecological transition, said the move protection law that was approved unanimously
was one of several to be implemented in coming years,
including a deposit-refund scheme for plastic bottles. DW D FRXQFLO PHHWLQJ :HGQHVGD\ DQG ZLOO SUHYHQW
businesses from providing disposable plastic bags to
"Declaring war customers. Plastic bags were to be banned in April but
on plastic is not were then postponed for August in the municipality of
HQRXJK :H QHHG “. . . Protecting the environment is a fundamental
to transform the
French economy," principle to build a more sustainable city with a
she told the Journal better quality of life,” Querétaro Mayor Marcos
du Dimanche $JXLODU 9HJD VDLG LQ D SUHVV UHOHDVH ´%HLQJ WKH ÀUVW
newspaper. Under municipality in Mexico to take this step, I want to
the new plan, ask all of you to feel proud and to contribute so that
products with this mission can be an example that is repeated in
recycled plastic the rest of the republic,” Aguilar said.Approval of
packaging could cost up to 10 percent less, Poirson said. the law “places our municipality as a national leader
:KHQ WKHUH V D FKRLFH EHWZHHQ WZR ERWWOHV RQH PDGH in environmental matters,” he added.Sanctions for
RI UHF\FOHG SODVWLF DQG WKH RWKHU ZLWKRXW WKH ÀUVW ZLOO businesses that don’t comply with the new ordinance
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will cost more, that will eliminate much of the excessive ranging in value according to the size of the offending
packaging," Poirson said. Flore Berlingen of the association establishment or even revoking their operational
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new measure. Emmanuel Guichard of the Elipso federation
of plastic packaging makers gave a cautious welcome to
the French plan. "For bottles, giving consumers a choice
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WKHUH V QR UHF\FOHG SODVWLF DYDLODEOH IRU \RJXUW SRWV KH
said. Ubiquitous images on social media of marine fauna
suffocated by plastics, as well as initiatives such as "plastic
attacks" -- which see shoppers dump all the packaging of
their purchases outside supermarkets -- have begun to licenses, the mayor explained. However, he stressed
spur political responses around the world. France currently that the decision to implement the law is based on
recycles around 25 percent of its plastic, according to the evidence that the bags are extremely harmful to the
magazine 60 Million Consumers. It has already outlawed
single-use plastic bags in supermarkets unless they can be environment and its aim is to stop that damage and
composted, hoping to encourage people to shop with their raise awareness about the issue rather than impose
own bags. The French government also aims to increase punishment.Two million disposable plastic bags are
currently used in the municipality daily, with each
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for recycling operations, hoping to address the growing one taking between 100 and 500 years to break down
completely.
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Plastics News August 2018 38