MEXICO CITY, May 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Mexico City’s legislature voted
Thursday to ban businesses from buying, selling or giving their customers
disposable plastics, a major shift for a sprawling capital that is awash in
them.
The ban, set to come into force in December 2020 or January 2021, includes
such articles as non-biodegradable plastic bags, straws, cutlery, cups and
coffee capsules, the legislature said in a statement, calling them a “serious
environmental problem.”
It puts the city of nine million people at the forefront of global efforts
to protect the environment and curb the amount of plastic that ends up in the
Earth’s oceans — eight million tonnes a year.
Legislators said they would now open debate on a spending package to help
companies shift their production and use of plastics toward biodegradable
materials.