Mexico's New Plastic Economy
Most recently, in Mexico more than 50 private sector companies, plastics industry trade associations, civil society groups, and government figures signed the National Agreement for the New Plastic Economy, or the Acuerdo Nacional para la Nueva Economía del Plástico en México, last month (5 December).
The agreement seeks to commit these stakeholders to reduce single-use plastics and give greater momentum to recycling. Although voluntary, it states that all plastic products marketed in Mexico should contain 20% recycled material by 2025 with the goal of reaching 30% by 2030 and to work towards recycling rates of 55%. By 2025, 70% of all PET should be recovered, rising to 80% by 2030.
Signatories included Nestlé, Coca Cola, Jugos del Valle, Pepsico, Grupo Bimbo, Unilever, Grupo Herdez, and the retailers Walmart and Oxxo.
According to the president of the political coordination board in the Mexican senate and member of the Morena party, Ricardo Monreal Ávila, Mexico is number one in Latin America for producing waste in 2018. It generated an average of 1.16 kg per day per inhabitant, equivalent to 117 thousand tons of waste daily, and 70% of this waste is not recycled.
“We are living above the limits of the planet," he said, adding that all stakeholders - including plastic manufacturers - must come together to find solutions and build an environmentally responsible Mexico. “It is better to work with them than to work in constant confrontation," he said.
© Getty Images/Aryfahmed
