UN agency says several Caribbean countries seek to restrict production, use of plastic bags
Published:Monday | June 4, 2018 | 11:14 AM
UNITED NATIONS, CMC – The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) says several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are using taxes, bans and technological innovation to restrict the production and consumption of plastic bags and reduce their harmful impact on oceans and marine species.
It is estimated that the world consumes each year up to five trillion plastic bags, mostly made of polyethylene, a low-cost polymer derived from petroleum, which takes at least 500 years to degrade, UN Environment said on Saturday.
It said only 9 per cent of all plastic waste is recycled.
UN Environment noted that Latin America and the Caribbean – home to the Amazon Basin, the Patagonian highlands, and a dense concentration of coral reefs – is “incredibly rich in biodiversity.”
“Governments around the region have been delivering bold pollution-beating policies,” said UN Environment, stating that Antigua and Barbuda was the first country in the region to ban plastic bags in 2016.
UN Environment said its “Clean Seas” campaign aims to drastically reduce the consumption of disposable plastics and eradicate the use of microplastics that pollute the world’s oceans.
Twelve countries in the region are part of the campaign: Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia and Uruguay.
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