Mexican state of Jalisco will ban straws, plastic bags & styrofoam in 2019

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico – According to Banderas News, before the end of the current legislature, the State Congress intends to approve the bill to prohibit the use of straws, plastic bags and even Styrofoam throughout Jalisco, in order to stop the environmental damage caused by these products, especially to marine fauna.

With this measure, all municipalities must adapt their regulations before the end of the year to begin the ban from the first day of 2019, Citizen Movement Deputy Verónica Jiménez informed.

“What we are proposing is that the warnings and regulations be put into force as of January 1, 2019, and communicated throughout the year to make the public aware and socially conscientious, and beginning on January 1, 2020 violators will be fined.”

The proposal arose from the initiative presented in Puerto Vallarta by city councilman Juan José Cuevas, based on the observations he had made about the indiscriminate use of straws in that tourist center.

The initiative will propose reforms to the State Law of Ecological Equilibrium and Protection of the Environment, as well as to the Law of Integral Waste Management.

This will generate some obligations for the State Government, such as promoting research and development of technologies and companies that replace plastic bags, straws and Styrofoam, said Jimenez. In addition, support programs should be created to promote the companies dedicated to the production of said products (provided they are biodegradable), to the recycling and reduction of these materials. They also have to generate awareness campaigns and create incentives for the general public to replace plastic bags, Styrofoam and straws with eco-friendly alternatives.

“This is very important because it is not just a question of prohibiting plastics, but also of generating incentives aimed at economic entities that substitute plastic bags, straw and Styrofoam for biodegradable products.”

The responsibilities for the 125 municipalities are to regulate and sanction the use of these products, as well as to generate environmental education campaigns, agreements with companies that replace their plastics with biodegradable materials, monitor compliance with the prohibition and establish sanctions.

Jiménez explained that during 2019 stores will only be put on alert so that businessmen who have accumulated merchandise can use what is already stored in their warehouses during that time.

“We are going to issue warnings so that the use of these products is discouraged until the first of January of 2020, at which time whoever uses or sells them will be sanctioned and fined. What we want is for our municipalities to be free of these harmful contaminants.”

Source: http://www.banderasnews.com/

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