Three years after being in force, the application of Jalisco legislation restricting the use of plastic straws and single-use plastic bags is stagnant, and there are still no certified producers of recycled bags in compliance with the regulation.

According to the State Environmental Standard (NAE), the producers of these bags must certify that they use at least 20% recycled material in the manufacture. The Ministry of the Environment must publish and update the list of certified companies for the production and commercialization of sustainable plastic bags. However, the head of the agency, Sergio Graf Montero, reported that there is still no producer with the certification, although at least a dozen signed up for testing.

“Through the industrial reactive program, financial support was offered to companies that produce plastic bags and straws to pay for their certification. Currently, around 12 producers have been registered in the evaluation process to obtain the certification, but at the moment, there is still no certified product,” he said.

The application of fines has been suspended until there is a list of certified producers.

The NAE establishes that the migration to sustainable material is gradual. The first year, the producers of plastic bags must incorporate 20% recycled material in the manufacture. For the second year, the plastic bags must have at least 30% recycled material, and, the following year, the recycled material must be 40%.

The certification would be valid for two years, and can be lost in case of detecting any irregularity on the part of the authorized company, or if the certification of an article is deliberately used to commercialize or distribute others different from those endorsed.

Key info

  • In October 2018, the reform to the State Ecological Balance Law came into force to restrict single-use plastic bags.
  • The regulations to apply the reform should have been ready in mid-April 2019, but was delayed until November 2020.
  • In January 2020, the City Councils of Zapopan and Guadalajara approved modifications to their Regulations for the Protection of the Environment and Climate Change, to include the restriction on the use of plastic bags and straws.
  • The Zapopan regulation was more severe than the state law because it included prohibiting the use of styrofoam products, and fines of up to 3,040,000 pesos.
  • In Mexico, on average, each family discards 650 plastic bags a year, according to data from organizations, such as Greenpeace.
  • The useful time of a bag is estimated at 15 minutes, while its degradation takes at least 100 years.
  • Greenpeace has demanded that Mexico have legislation at the national level that prohibits the use of disposable plastics.
  • At least 20 of the 32 states have authorized restricting the use of single-use plastics.