National legislation
In recent years, governments across Latin America have been taking steps to reduce their plastic footprint.
Chile became the first South American country in mid-2018 to ban the use of plastic bags, coming into force for retailers a year after and after two years for smaller businesses.
Colombia brought in legislation in 2017 on single-use plastics and applied a tax to large plastic bags to discourage their use, which reduced plastic bag consumption by 35%, according to GlobalData.
Peru, meanwhile, passed a bill that aims to reduce plastic bag consumption by 35% over the next three years.
When legislation at a national level is lacking, some cities are stepping in. In 2018, the city of Rio de Janeiro voted to ban plastic straws while in 2017, Buenos Aires restricted supermarkets’ use of plastic bags.
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