Chile passes law banning the use of single-use plastic packaging or cutlery

By the end of November, restaurants and other businesses will have to replace cups, plates and other plastic cutlery with cardboard or compostable materials.

© AFP - PATRICK PLEUL

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Congress overwhelmingly passed a law that will soon ban single-use plastics for home delivery and take-out in particular.

The law is promulgated this week and by the end of November, restaurants and other businesses will have to replace plastic cups, plates and other cutlery with cardboard or compostable materials. 

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With our correspondent in Santiago de Chile,

Justine Fontaine

In this little pastry shop in downtown Santiago, plastic bags are no longer given.

But portions of cakes are still sold in transparent plastic packaging, for example.

Marcelo Riveros is the owner of the store and he is preparing to replace these boxes by the end of the year: “ 

Plastic is much cheaper than paper, cardboard or other compostable materials,” he

points out. he. 

And there is no secret: if it costs us more, we will have to pass on half of this additional cost to our prices. 

"

Avoid the use of 23,000 tonnes of plastic

Arturo Arriagada, in his fifties, has just bought a take-out coffee and a sandwich.

And like almost all passers-by on Wednesday, he is in favor of the new law: “ 

It seems very good to me that it will soon come into effect.

And personally I am ready to pay a little more so that we no longer use plastic at all

 , ”he assures us.

According to the NGOs behind the text, the measure could prevent the use of 23,000 tonnes of plastic each year.

Polluting waste that today sometimes ends up along the Chilean coast in the Pacific Ocean.

Two years ago, Chile was the first country in Latin America to ban plastic bags in commerce.

► Also to listen: Can we do without plastic?

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  • Chile

  • Environment

  • Pollution