After more than a year of preparation, the use of containers, forks, straws and other disposable plastic items will be banned in the Mexican capital from Friday.
On Friday, the Ministry of the Environment of Mexico City – one of the largest cities in the world – posted on Twitter the message: “From today Mexico City without disposable plastics.” The tweet encourages people to always carry reusable containers and thermos, “just as we never forget to carry a cell phone.”
In 2019, local lawmakers passed a law banning the use of bags, utensils and other disposable plastic items. The city of 9 million has spent the last year adjusting or, in some cases, ignoring the impending change in law. The ban on plastic bags came into force last year.
Thin bags, supposedly biodegradable, have become more common in the city’s street food stalls. Plastic straws are offered less frequently. Freshly made omelettes are delivered wrapped in paper or cloth napkins that buyers bring with them.
But without the imposition of fines, the change will probably take time to arrive.
On Friday morning, a woman selling tamales under a large umbrella on the corner of a busy avenue in Mexico City made two in a plastic bag and offered two small colored plastic spoons that she took out of a cup full of them. When asked if he was on target for the ban to take effect, he said yes, but added that with the coronavirus, authorities forgot about it.
The city is currently on red alert as COVID-19 beds from its hospitals are close to capacity.
The woman, who did not want to give her name because she did not want to be reprimanded for not complying with the rule, said she was not the only one. He said vendors and locals in markets across the city still use disposable plastics.
The ban also includes disposable cups, plastic shakers, disposable coffee capsules and balloons, among other items.
In 2019, Mexico City produced about 13,000 tons of garbage per day, according to the capital’s environmental agency.