Santiago, July 9, 2020. Environmental organization Oceana Chile described the Senate’s approval of the bill that limits the manufacture of disposable products and regulates single-use plastics and plastic bottles as a “significant step” toward ocean decontamination.
“This initiative has had the support of all sectors, at the level of parliament as well as the government, which demonstrates that what is being regulated is a matter of interest to all and is urgent”, said Javiera Calisto, Director of the Marine Pollution Campaign of Oceana Chile. “We hope that the Chamber of Deputies will dispatch this bill quickly so that we can soon have a law that will allow us to protect the environment, prioritizing reuse over disposable materials”, she added.
The problem of plastic pollution is increasing. In fact, just in this last decade, the world produced more plastic than during the entire last century, and every year more than eight million tons of this material are dropped into the ocean.
Other figures demonstrate that 75% of trash collected during beach clean-ups is plastic. According to the Chilean Navy’s General Directorate for the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (DIRECTEMAR), most of the plastic waste found on Chilean beaches during 2018 were bottles and bottle caps, food packaging, pieces of styrofoam and food containers.
According to the plastic industry’s own estimations, Chile consumes about one million tons of this material per year.
“Plastic is already considered an omnipresent pollutant in ecosystems. A large quantity of disposable plastics of all sizes ends up on the ocean floor. But before it sinks, plastic can float for a very long time, becoming a mortal trap for marine species”, explains Camila Ahrendt, Scientific Director of Plastic Oceans Latin America, stating that “regulating disposable plastics in the country and promoting ocean health is urgent”.
The minister of Environment, Carolina Schmidt, who attended the session at the Senate, highlighted the joint work effort between civil society, the Commission on Environment and the government to develop this initiative, “this law goes in the direction of transforming our economy into one that is greener and circular”, said the minister during her presentation.
The bill of law
It should be noted that in May 2019, a transversal group of senators presented a bill of law based on joint work carried out by Oceana Chile and Plastic Oceans Chile, which developed a baseline regarding the situation of plastics in the country and included the analysis of legislation on this issue in other countries.
As a result of this study, a bill was presented that aims to limit the generation of disposable products and regulate plastics, especially plastic that is small and disposed of after a few minutes of use, which is not recycled because of its poor economic value and the high cost of its collection and categorization.
The regulation that was proposed is directed at food vending establishments such as restaurants, cafeterias, local kitchens, and other venues that serve prepared food or beverages, which will have to offer reusable products made of ceramic, wood, glass or similar materials. With regard to businesses that sell take-out food, these will have to provide disposables that are not plastic, such as aluminum, paper, cardboard, or certified disposable plastic.
The products that are regulated by this bill include cups, mugs, cutlery, mixers, straws, plates, containers or trays for prepared food and their accessory packaging, and lids.
Senator Guido Girardi, chairman of the Senate’s Commission on Environment when the bill was entered, and who voted on it, said this law is ambitious by eliminating waste that is absolutely expendable, while at the same time encouraging the use of reusable bottles.
Furthering regulation of disposable plastic bottles
The law thoroughly regulates disposable plastic bottles and encourages the use of reusable bottles to complement the Producer Extended Responsibility (PER) law. It establishes that large supermarkets as well as e-commerce must offer consumers reusable bottles, while disposable bottles will only be allowed as long as they contain recycled material collected in Chile. In addition, the percentage of recycled material in bottles must gradually increase, starting with 25% in 2025 to 70% in 2050.
The legal initiative, one of the most ambitious in the world, has all-around support from different legislators, and the Ministry of Environment, and will gradually come into force within three years. The bill will now be reviewed by the Commission on Environment of the Chamber of Deputies.
Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one-third of the world’s wild fish catch. With more than 225 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, and the killing of threatened species like turtles and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that 1 billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal, every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit www.oceana.org to learn more.