Chile has announced the abolition of plastic bags in coastal areas within a year
According to the South American Diaspora newspaper network reported that Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (Michelle Bachelet) announced on September 21 that it is expected to eliminate the use of plastic bags in all coastal areas within a year. In recent years, about 60 Chilean cities have banned plastic bags. Mayors in those cities say the results did not happen overnight.
The Chilean government will introduce a new bill in October that will ban the use of plastic bags in coastal areas across the country, according to reports. Environment Minister Marcelo?? Marcelo Mena said the aim of the law was to protect the environment, especially the Marine environment. "Today, plastic is found in 90 per cent of seabirds' stomachs, and if we don't control it, that proportion will continue to rise to 99 per cent." He added that if no action is taken, the number of plastic bags in the sea is expected to outnumber the number of fish by 2050.
The mayor of Punta Arenas was the first to introduce a plastic bag ban, Claudio?? Claudio Radonich, the mayor of Punta Arenas, said he strongly supported the new law. "We hope [not using plastic bags] can become a code of conduct," he said. "Not only do citizens not use plastic bags in their own cities, but they can also avoid them when they go to other cities in the north."
Claudio?? The promotion of the plastic bag ban was not easy, Radonich recalls. When the ban was introduced four years ago, the legal administration, after a complex review, only allowed the use of plastic bags to be restricted and reduced, rather than banned. But many local companies, especially those that supply bags, have been very helpful to the city." "It took us some time to get used to [not using plastic bags], but now we basically use recycled bags in our cars, in our homes." "He said.
The city of La Serena began restricting the use of plastic bags eight months ago, Mayor Roberto?? "It's a collective effort," says Roberto Jacob, the mayor. "We all have to contribute. "It didn't make much progress at first, but now it has made a big difference. People are used to carrying their own bags."
"The results were not achieved overnight, but gradually accumulated. But the important thing is to get on with it, to start doing it, because it's a huge contribution to the environment."