Ban Against Plastic Bags: Buenos Aires Province Joins
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires 
on 09.15.08
(Photo: s2art.) The government of Buenos Aires province (a territory separate from Buenos Aires city but accounting for about 37% of the country population) has approved a law to ban shops and supermarkets to give polyethylene plastic bags in its territory.
In a two-year period, the bags will have to be replaced by recipients from biodegradable materials, such as paper or special plastics that decompose. When that period ends, shops that still give plastic bags could face bills and even closure of their venues.
Find out about repercussions to the measure and other initiatives that are taking place on national and provincial levels in the extended.
Buenos Aires province law to ban polyethylene plastic bags
The text approved by the province says the government, "forbids the use of polyethylene and other conventional plastics bags given away by supermarkets, self-service-shops, grocery stores and shops in general for transportation of products and merchandise in all its territory."
In order to achieve this, it gives a two-year period for all shops to convert to paper or biodegradable-plastic bags.
The news was well received by society and environmental organizations, though questions arose as paper bags are more expensive (and take more energy to produce), and Argentineans use supermarket plastic bags to throw away their trash.
Plastic bags ban in Argentina and Latin America
Other regions of Argentina that have taken measures against plastic bags include El Bolson (a town Warren reviewed in his post El Bolson, an organic municipality) and El Calafate, both located in Patagonia, in which the measure is effective today. Also, the city of San Isidro, located in Buenos Aires province, which has approved a similar law to that of the province on a municipal level a few weeks ago, also with a two-year period for adaptation.
At the capital of the country, some criticism against bags has already shown: a few months ago we told you about an anti-plastic bag campaign in Buenos Aires.
On a national level, the Argentinean Congress is analyzing a similar law that was presented in 2007 and that proposes the ban of plastic bags in all supermarkets and shops from January 2013 on.
Both Uruguay and Chile have recently presented projects to ban regular plastic bags from their territories too.
:: Via La Nacion newspaper
:: Additional info from Clarin and Degradable.com.ar.
More on plastic bags at TreeHugger:
Green basics: Comparison between paper and plastic bags
Cities and countries that have banned plastic bags:
Encinitas, CA - Latest City to Ban Plastic Bags
China Launches Crackdown on Plastic Bags
UK Town Goes Plastic Bag Free
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Wow, with so many plastic bags floating around like toxic jellyfish, I wish there were such laws where I live!
The BA Province ban is not that groundbreaking, even in Argentina. In December 2004 Mendoza Province banned non-biodegradable carry bags, and Chubut followed suit in May 2005.
In 2004 Comodoro Rivadavia (Chubut) banned commercial establishments from using non-biodegradable bags and Caleta Olivia (Santa Cruz) ordered a phase-out of plastic carry bags unless biodegradable.
In December 2004 Puerto Madryn (CH) took a slightly different approach: it ordered retailers to offer customers a choice between paper and plastic shopping bags, and then taxed the use by retailers of plastic bags.
Outside of Argentina, this plastic bag battle has been raging in Brazil for 3-4 years now, with a number of municipalities and states considering measures.
The huge municipality of Rio de Janeiro first passed a law in 2004 requiring supermarkets and other retailers to use carry bags made of recycled paper -- that was fought by industry and the mayor, and was amended in 2007 to allow biodegradable plastic as an option.
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FROM WRITER
Hi there, nobody said this is groundbreaking, but an ongoing trend. I actually mentioned other towns like El Bolson and Calafate with similar measures; and I linked back to only a few of other cities in the world that have followed through.
Thanks for the info though, I didn't know about the towns you mention.
Best
Paula
Hi Paula. I wrote the prior comment using my typekey ID, so don't understand why it posted me as "anonymous." :-(
Well, the key difference between BA Province and the other two is market size -- PBA alone accounts for probably 40-45% of retail in Argentina (I haven't checked the retail share figures in quite a while, so don't quote me on that!). Now that PBA has banned them, more are likely to follow -- if the National Congress doesn't beat them to it. It's certainly going to be a challenging time for Argentina's plastic sector.
Saludos atentos,
Keith R
The Temas Blog
Hi Keith, I fixed the previous comment, it will show up with your name eventually.
Yes, even if not pioneering, the provincial ban is a huge step, that can be realized just by traveling some of the poorer neighborhoods and seeing the massive amount of bags on the sides of the roads (I forgot to add a percentage that explains what BA pr. represents to the country, I'm adding that).
I think the city of Buenos Aires should follow, and then on a national level. However, I think 2013 as starting year for the country (which is the date they're analyzing) is too much, they should set at least 2010 as a goal.
cheers,
I think this is a huge step in the right direction. Every little bit helps and I can't wait until this kind of prohibition makes it way to all the cities in America.