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l past November 17 The Senate approved, with 72 votes in favor and 16 against, the draft decree by which the General Law for the Prevention and Comprehensive Management of Waste (LGPGIR) is amended. The initiative was promoted by senators Ricardo Monreal, from Morena, and Raúl Bolaños-Cacho, from the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM). It is supposed to aim to reduce waste generation by minimizing material waste and reducing the consumption of virgin materials. And this through reuse, recycling and redesign. Several legislators denounced that representatives of the plastics industry were behind the ruling. Several environmental organizations agree with them and expressed their dissatisfaction with this reform, as well as with the new General Circular Economy Law (LGEC), since they consider that they do not promote the reduction of the production or consumption of single-use plastics.
Greenpeace describes it as a serious error, since it encourages the production and consumption of this material by favoring its recycling and incineration to convert it into energy. It is a practice known as thermovaluation or co-processing. And with this, the production and consumption of plastics can continue as they are valued by burning them. He argued that thermovaluation is not a circular economy, because waste loses its value when incinerated and thus is not maintained in production cycles. In short, the new measures do not stop plastic pollution and what is needed is to reduce the production and consumption of said material and move towards reuse.
For their part, the 200 organizations that make up the Alianza México Sin Plásticos (AMSP) criticized the fact that they left out other principles of the circular economy. For example, eco-innovation, product life extension, repair, second use, and zero waste. According to the AMSP, the new LGPGIR is committed to recycling, it does not oblige the industry to have greater responsibility in the handling of the products it produces and puts at risk the viability of the anti-plastics laws approved in 30 entities of the country.
Mexico City was the first to ban single-use bags in 2019. This year, the straws, cutlery, glasses, coffee capsules and other articles of that material. The sale, consumption and distribution of such products is only allowed if they are manufactured with materials that can biodegrade at least 90 percent for six months and in an environment rich in oxygen or in contact with organic materials.
Every day, the homes, businesses and industry of the city throw away more than 13 thousand tons of garbage and only one sixth of it is recycled. The rest goes to landfills that do not meet the conditions to avoid being a source of contamination. And one of the components of that garbage is plastic items. In the country each year, about 45 million tons of waste are generated and much of it is plastic that severely affects the environment and public health.
In just seven decades the world was flooded with almost eternal and dangerous plastic waste. They are everywhere. They are even in the polar caps. Along with climate change, they are considered a threat. And with good reason: if in 1950 the world production of plastics was 1.5 million tons a year, now it is 350 million. And if its production is not stopped, in 2050 it will be one billion. The problem is today, since there are accumulated more than 8 thousand 400 million tons of plastic of which 6 thousand 300 are single use, polluting. Only less than 10 percent is recycled.
By pointing out the gaps and omissions contained in the new legislation, Greenpeace and the AMSP asked the members of the Chamber of Deputies to analyze this reform again and not approve it in the terms that the Senate did, as it would mean a setback in the fight against plastic pollution; a blow to the measures that seek to stop it in the country.
The plastics industry is very powerful and influential in the world. Despite this, most countries are moving towards eliminating such material. Mexico cannot be the exception and the duty of legislators is to ensure the common good, not private interests.
