SUSTAINABILITY

Regulation on plastics.  As of January 1 this year, a ban on the import and use of single-use plastics and polystyrene came into force in six Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago) as well as Belize and Costa RIca. These countries thus join a list of states in the region with similar legislation, including Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Colombia, Guyana, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The trend in limiting the use of plastics that is taking hold this year in Central America and the Caribbean is expected to spread to other parts of Latin America.

The regulation of polyethylene plastic has thus become a regional trend. In fact, virtually all Latin American countries have initiatives to regulate plastics in their respective national Congresses. The bills generally seek to prohibit or replace single-use plastics as well as bags made from the same material. Although most of these bills are in the initial stages of parliamentary procedure, there is expected to be considerable progress on this in view of the growing weight of this issue on the regional agenda.

The role played by the United Nations (UN) in the debate on the regulation of plastics is especially significant. In the report The State of Plastics, UN Environment highlights the need to promote public policies that limit single-use plastics through incentives to the private sector, awareness campaigns and mechanisms to ensure effective compliance with regulations. The international organization believes that these measures will result in an effective reduction in the consumption of plastics.

Next steps

Plastics regulations are expected to advance in most of the region’s congresses in 2019. In parallel, it also expected that there will be more initiatives coming through seeking stricter regulations. Colombia’s initiative to ban all types of single-use plastic by 2030 is noteworthy in this regard.