- Cutlery, light bulbs, feather utensils among others, will be the first prohibited items
- Project was born from civil society and had the transversal support of congressmen and the Ministry of the Environment
Santiago, May 20, 2021. As “a very ambitious step” for the decontamination of the oceans of plastic and disposable products, the marine conservation organization Oceana described the approval of the law that prohibits single-use and disposable plastics. in food and delivery places.
From the NGO, one of the civil society organizations that promoted the project from the beginning expressed their joy at finally having a single-use plastics law in Chile. “As an Oceana team, this makes us proud, because we know that with it our seas and coasts will be better. This has been a long work that has been achieved thanks to the work and collaboration of many actors and based on a lot of technical information, which allows us to conclude that we are facing a law that seeks to change a paradigm, leaving behind the culture of disposable and recovering what is reusable, ”said Javiera Calisto, Oceana’s Legal Director. “We hope that many people will join and support the law, since the most important thing is coming, which is to achieve success in its implementation,” he added.
“After more than two years of work, we can celebrate a great victory for the environment! I firmly believe that this law is ambitious, but at the same time realistic for Chile in terms of waste generation and technical capacities to make these changes. “said Mark Minneboo, Executive Director of Plastic Oceans Chile.” Time is running out to be able to reverse the damage that plastics are causing to the environment. We have to stop the flow of plastic to the ocean and the generation of waste in its origin. This law is responsible for an important part of that contamination, “he added.
The scope of the law
The standard is aimed at establishments that sell food such as restaurants, cafeterias, cooks and other places that serve prepared food or beverages, which must offer reusable products, when consumption is made within them.
Those who sell take-out food must deliver non-plastic disposables, such as aluminum, paper or cardboard. Regulated products include glasses, mugs, bowls, silverware, mixers, light bulbs, plates, sachets, and prepared meal trays. For some products certified plastics will be allowed.
The project also regulates plastic bottles, establishing that all supermarkets, warehouses and minimarkets, in their face-to-face and electronic sale, must offer and receive returnable bottles. For its part, disposable bottles will only be allowed if they contain recycled material collected in the country and in percentages that will progressively increase.
The bill, presented in May 2019, was unanimously approved by both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies and Deputies and had the support of the Ministry of the Environment.
“The approval of this project, supported across the board by parliamentarians and civil society, is a milestone in the care and protection of Chile’s environment. A responsible but ambitious project that allows us to take over more than 23,000 tons of single-use plastics that are generated per year by places such as restaurants, bars, cafes and delivery ”, said the Minister of the Environment, Carolina Schmidt.
From Congress, Deputy Catalina Pérez, one of the law’s sponsors, affirmed that “we are taking a momentous step for the environmental care of Chile and the world. The planet cannot keep waiting, if we do not take action today in 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. Single-use plastics have a slow degradation that causes tremendous environmental damage, which is why their approval is so important ”.
“Just as we are experiencing the climate change crisis, we are experiencing a more silent one, which is the plastic pollution of the oceans, so it is very important to reduce the production of these and one of the mechanisms is to end those plastics that are dispensable such as that regulates this law, “said Senator Guido Girardi, one of the senators who presented the bill, adding that it is an innovative regulation that” allows us to move towards a circular economy. “
Entry into force
After six months of publication of the law in the Official Gazette, all food outlets, such as restaurants, cafes and bars, will not be able to deliver cutlery, light bulbs, stirrers and plastic chopsticks, while the utensils made of plastic may not be used in such places. Then, after three years, food outlets will have the obligation to use reusable products when consumption is outside the premises and deliver for consumption outside of them, disposable products made of materials other than plastic or certified plastic.
For the returnable bottle, after six months, all supermarkets must sell and receive returnable bottles, an obligation that will be extended to stores and convenience stores after two years. Finally, after three years, the percentage of the returnable bottle sales display may not be less than 30%.
The regulations will also be applicable within the dependencies of public bodies.