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Panama Becomes First Central American Nation to Ban Plastic Bags

Reuters

   PANAMA CITY -- Panama on Saturday becamethe first Central American
   nation to ban single-use plastic bagsto try to curb pollution on its
   beaches and help tackle what theUnited Nations has identified as one of
   the world's biggestenvironmental challenges.

   The isthmus nation of roughly 4 million people joined morethan 60 other
   countries that have totally or partially bannedsingle-use plastic bags,
   or have introduced taxes to dissuade theiruse, including Chile and
   Colombia in the region.

   Supermarkets, pharmacies and retailers in Panama must stop using
   traditional polyethylene plastic bags immediately, whilewholesale
   stores will have until 2020 to conform to the policyapproved in 2018.
   Fines can be applied for non-compliance butthere are exceptions for the
   use of plastic bags for sanitaryreasons, such as with raw food.

   On the streets of Panama City, signs with the phrase "lessbags, more
   life" reminded passers-by that the measure had goneinto effect.

   "This seems like a good measure because you avoid continuingto pollute
   the streets and the community," said Victoria Gomez, 42, a secretary in
   downtown Panama City.

   Birds, turtles, seals, whales and fish often becomeentangled in or
   ingest the remnants of plastic bags in LatinAmerica, one of the most
   biodiverse regions in the world. AlongPanama's coast, it is common to
   see plastic waste littering
   beaches, especially near populated areas.

   Given projected growth in consumption, without newanti-pollution
   policies, oceans are expected by 2050 to containmore plastics than fish
   by weight, according to the New PlasticsEconomy report published by the
   Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2016.

   The report also found that the entire plastics industry wouldconsume
   20% of total oil production by then.

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