(1 Jan 2020) For centuries, Mexico City residents brought food home in reusable cloths, woven straw baskets, mesh bags, or even string bundles. People in Mexico's massive capital city may have to return to those old ways starting Wednesday, as a new law banning the plastic bags which became ubiquitous over the last 30 years is coming into effect.
Some say they are ready and willing, and grocery stores are promising to promote reusable synthetic fibre bags, but others are struggling to get their minds around how the ban will work in practice.
Under the new law, grocery stores will be fined if they give out plastic bags.
Most will offer reusable shopping bags made of thick plastic fibre, usually selling them for around 75 cents.
City subway worker Ernesto Gallardo Chávez welcomed the ban reluctantly, wondering what would happen if he went grocery shopping and forgot to bring his reusable bags.
For poorer city residents, forgetting to do so even one day could carry a high price in a country where the 75 cent reusable bag costs the equivalent of an hour's worth of the minimum wage.
Most city residents agree it's necessary to protect the environment.
But plastic bags in Mexico City are almost never really single-use: most residents have bought rubbish bins just the right size to be lined with supermarket bags.
And the bags are commonly used to clean up after dogs on pavements.
Aldimir Torres, the leader of the country's Plastic Industry Chamber, questioned the implementation of the law, noting that it was drawn up without having clear guidelines about what kind of “compostable” bags would still be allowed.
The law leaves the door open to using plastic bags ”for reasons of hygiene", presumably for items like deli meats or cheese.
It also allows for bags that biodegrade very quickly, but sets no specific standards for them.
By 2021, the same law will ban handing out plastic straws, spoons, coffee capsules and other single-use items.
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