Mexico plastics industry plans PR campaign to battle bag bans

Mexico plastics industry plans PR campaign toMedio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales) that would
battle bag bans Posted by Baixongkm on Friday,see the country’s hundreds of thousands of
November 06, 2009 4:30:12 AM Mexico’sgarbage collectors incorporated into a national
plastic industry has launched a counterattackgarbage separation initiative.
against its detractors, including legislators whoAccording to Anipac’s managing director,
voted in March to ban the use of non-degradableAlfredo López Machorro, the city of San Luís
plastic bags in all Mexico City stores.Potosí, 250 miles southwest of Mexico City, is
Store owners in the capital face heavy fines andthe only large urban area in Mexico where
prison sentences if, by mid 2010, they have faileddomestic garbage collection is carried out by a
to replace polyethylene T-shirt bags and thoseprivate contractor and where, consequently, the
available in rolls with ones made from degradablegarbage is separated. Anipac’s PR campaign
materials.will start Oct. 21 and run through Jan. 16. In that
The industry fears that, if the authorities intime, Salas and other Anipac officials and
Mexico are not persuaded otherwise, all the othermembers plan to give interviews to dozens of
31 states in Mexico will follow and ban bags andjournalists from the print and electronic media.
other type of plastic packaging as well. But in aAmong the points they will cover, according to
statement, emailed to members late Oct. 19,Anipac, are that the plastic industry in Mexico is
Mexico’s national plastic industries association,worth $25 billion per year and employs 150,000
Anipac (Asociación Nacional de Industrias deldirectly and 800,000 indirectly, while a total of
Plástico AC), announced the launch of a national3,600 companies have $1.4 billion invested in the
public relations campaign aimed at getting the lawsector.
modified.Comments (1) It is good to know that the
Anipac believes recycling would solve all theMexican Plastic Association is working on a plan to
problems caused by discarded plastic bags. Itcounter the Bag Bans. While commercial statistics
argues that in Mexico only 1 percent of themay impress a few and the industries ministry
390,000 metric tonnes of plastic bags produced inmay be sympathetic to them there is something
the country every year is recycled, and itmore the citizens would be moved by to support
criticizes the authorities for not enforcing laws onplastics. From our experience I can say citizens &
garbage separation. Guillermo Salas, Anipac’slocal bodies want the trade and industry using
president, said early this month that Teknopelletsplastics to be a part of the solution. Awareness
SA de CV, which claims to be Mexico’scampaigns against littering, education drives for
largest recycler of post-consumer andsegragation of waste at source and bin culture on
post-industrial low density polyethylene, isa mass scale will be needed.Local bodies are not
importing waste material from Guatemala ascapable of effective social communication
there are insufficient supplies available in Mexico.generally, trade and industry can help with
“It’s incredible that a small country likeeffective campaigns that trigger response of
Guatemala separates its rubbish and we in Mexicocitizens. Working with citizens groups, NGOs as
don’t,” Salas said. Anipac is preparing apartners to bring change in solid waste
proposal for Mexico’s environment and naturalmanagement and increasing recycling at local level
resources ministry Semarnat (Secretaría decould be a worthwhile effort.