After more than a year of preparation, starting Friday, the use of disposable plastic containers, forks, straw and other plastic items will be banned in the Mexican capital.
On Friday, Mexico City’s Environment Secretariat – one of the world’s largest cities – posted a message on Twitter: “Today, Mexico City is free of disposable plastics.” The tweet encourages people to always carry reusable containers and thermos, “just as we never forget to carry a mobile phone.”
In 2019, local parliamentarians passed a law banning the use of bags, utensils and other disposable plastic items. The city of 9 million people has spent the last year adapting or, in some cases, ignoring the impending change of law. The ban on plastic bags came into force last year.
Biodegradable thin bags are supposed to have become more common at city food stalls. Plastic straws are rarely offered. Freshly made tortillas are delivered wrapped in paper or cloth napkins that buyers bring with them.
But without fines, the change will probably take time to come.
On Friday morning, a woman selling tamales under a large umbrella on the corner of a crowded boulevard in Mexico City stuck two in a plastic bag and offered two colored plastic spoons, which she took out of a full cup. with them. . When asked if he was aware of the ban coming into force, he said yes, but added that with the coronavirus, authorities had forgotten about it.
The city is currently on red alert because its hospital’s COVID-19 beds are close to capacity.
The woman, who did not want to be named because she did not want to be reprimanded for not respecting the norm, said she was not alone. He said vendors and locals in the city’s markets still use disposable plastics.
The ban also includes disposable cups, plastic stirrers, disposable coffee beans and balloons, among others.
In 2019, Mexico City produced about 13,000 tons of garbage a day, according to the capital’s environmental agency.