Share
News

Mexico City Residents Expected To Struggle Getting Used to Plastic Bag Ban

Share

For centuries, Mexico City residents brought warm tortillas home in reusable cloths or woven straw baskets, and toted others foods in conical rolls of paper, “ayate” mesh or net bags, or even string bundles.

People in Mexico’s massive capital city may have to return to those old ways starting Wednesday, when a new law takes effect banning the plastic bags that became ubiquitous over the last 30 years.

Some say they are ready and willing, and grocery stores are promising to promote reusable synthetic fiber bags, but others are struggling to get their minds around how the ban will work in practice.

“We have a very rich history in ways to wrap things,” said Claudia Hernández, the city’s director of environmental awareness. “We are finding that people are returning to baskets, to cucuruchos,” she said, referring to cone-shaped rolls of paper once used to wrap loose bulk goods like nuts, chips or seeds.

Some Mexico City residents still use traditional ayate bags, or tortilla towels or baskets, and many — especially the elderly — pull two-wheeled, folding shopping baskets through grocery stores. Some merchants still use old sardine cans to measure out bulk goods.

Trending:
Prince Harry Named in Major Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Against Rapper

Under the new law, grocery stores will be fined if they give out plastic bags.

Most will offer reusable shopping bags made of thick plastic fiber, usually selling them for around 75 cents.

“They are not giving them away, they are selling them, and that is what I don’t agree with,” said city subway worker Ernesto Gallardo Chávez, who wonders what will happen if he goes grocery shopping after Jan. 1 and forgets to bring his reusable bags.

“Just imagine, I forget my bag and I buy a lot of stuff,” said Gallardo Chávez. “How do I carry it all, if they don’t give you bags anymore?”

Do you think plastic bag bans are unnecessary?

Like most city residents, Gallardo Chávez thinks protecting the environment is “very good.”

But plastic bags in Mexico City are almost never really single-use: Most city residents have bought garbage cans and waste paper baskets just the right size to be lined with supermarket bags. And the bags are commonly used to clean up after dogs on sidewalks.

“We use the bags for garbage, to separate it into organic and inorganic, and then take it out to the garbage truck,” he notes.

Hernández, the environment official, said people should get out of the habit of putting their garbage in plastic bags. “They can take it out [to the garbage truck] directly in garbage cans.”

But that is complicated given the city’s stubborn water shortages.

Related:
Shocking First Court Appearances Reveals Russian Terror Suspects' Lives Have Taken a Hellish Turn

It’s all very well to tell city residents not to line their trash cans with plastic bags, but washing out a kitchen receptacle every couple of days after use because it doesn’t have a plastic liner will takes its toll on water supplies.

Not to mention the widespread habit of tossing used toilet paper into wastepaper baskets to spare the strain on many homes’ aged and insufficient plumbing.

Used toilet paper is not the kind of thing you can turn over loose to the trash collector.

Data analysis specialist Daniel Loredo says he is planning to hoard his last remaining plastic shopping bags precisely for that purpose.

But he and his roommates have already taken steps to build up a supply of reusable bags and make sure whoever goes to the grocery store is carrying a few.

However, for poorer city residents, forgetting to do so even one day could carry a high price in a country where the 75-cent reusable bag costs the equivalent of an hour’s worth of the minimum wage.

“I think this will be a challenge, because these bags represent an additional cost, and maybe not everyone can bear that cost quite as easily,” Loredo said.

Aldimir Torres, the leader of the country’s Plastic Industry Chamber, called the new law “cheap populism,” noting that it was drawn up without having clear guidelines about what kind of “compostable” bags would still be allowed.

The law leaves the door open to using plastic bags ”for reasons of hygiene,” presumably for items like deli meats or cheese.

It also allows for bags that biodegrade very quickly, but sets no specific standards for them.

“This was a law that was copied and put together in a rush, without consulting people who really know about this issue,” Torres said.

Hernández acknowledged there was still a lot of work to be done on alternatives.

For example, Mexico City’s ubiquitous street food stalls often use plastic bags to temporarily cover plastic plates in areas where they have no taps or sinks to wash each plate after use. While that might seem to be covered under the “hygiene” clause of the new law, Hernandez said somewhat ingeniously that “this could be solved by some device to wash the plates.”

The law, she claimed, had to be rushed into effect.

“I don’t know why, but sometimes we need a little more pressure in order to take action,” Hernández said, noting the bag ban “is an invitation, a provocation to rethink they way we consume”.

Laredo thinks the law may be imperfect, but worth it.

“I think that in some way this is a responsible strategy, to introduce us to some more appropriate method of consumption,” he said. “In the end, [plastic bags] are something that pollute and hurt the environment.”

By 2021, the same law will ban handing out plastic straws, spoons, coffee capsules and other single-use items.

The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , ,
Share
The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Their teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. They provide content and services to help engage audiences worldwide, working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands. Photo credit: @AP on Twitter
The Associated Press was the first private sector organization in the U.S. to operate on a national scale. Over the past 170 years, they have been first to inform the world of many of history's most important moments, from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the fall of the Shah of Iran and the death of Pope John Paul.

Today, they operate in 263 locations in more than 100 countries relaying breaking news, covering war and conflict and producing enterprise reports that tell the world's stories.
Location
New York City




Conversation