SUSTAINABILITY

Single-use plastics. On July 6 in Peru, as part of the 14th Summit of the Pacific Alliance, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, Colombian President Iván Duque, Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra and Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard agreed to launch a common agenda to promote the integrated management of plastics, recycling and the circular economy. The leaders’ intention is to advance in the coming months in the design of policies to discourage the use of single-use plastics, and promote recycling and the re-use of plastics.

Among the commitments made by the Presidents, of particular note was that to implement policies and search for solutions that regulate the production and consumption of plastics, especially single-use plastics. The objective is to prevent the negative impacts of plastic and microplastic waste on the environment.

The regulations to be promoted by the Alliance include ones to limit or prohibit the use of single-use plastic bags, straws, crockery and other products. This issue, together with the sustainable development objectives of Agenda 2030, will continue to be worked on at future conferences.

Next steps

The countries of the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico) will promote in the coming months a series of measures to meet the objectives of sustainable development. Specifically, the Alliance will analyze the creation of common measures for its member countries to discourage the demand and use of single-use plastics. In addition, they will study measures to limit the use of plastics in protected natural areas as well as promote research and innovation to replace these types of materials.