Chile officially promulgated the 'Prohibition of Plastics Law' on the 3rd, prohibiting all supermarkets nationwide, and shops offering plastic bags to customers. Chile will become the first country in Latin America to completely ban merchants from providing plastic bags to shoppers.
The 'Prohibition Method' stipulates that since the 3rd of this month, the national large supermarkets, shopping centers and department stores will have a six-month buffer period, during which only two plastic bags can be provided to each shopper. 2019 Starting from February 3, all large supermarkets and shopping malls will no longer be able to provide shoppers with free or chargeable plastic bags, and offenders will be fined. For each illegally provided plastic bag, the fine can be up to $370.
According to the 'ban plastic method', small and medium-sized micro-businesses enjoy a two-year buffer period, in which two plastic bags can be provided to each shopper. Since August 3, 2020, Chile will be fully banned.
On the 3rd, Chilean President Piñera distributed environmentally friendly bags to pedestrians in the center of the capital Santiago, celebrating the official promulgation of the 'Forbidden Plastics Law'.
On May 30 this year, the Chilean parliament passed the 'Prohibition Law' submitted for consideration by the Ministry of the Environment. On June 25, the Chilean Plastics Industry Association sued the Chilean Constitutional Court for the 'ban on the law', which was unconstitutional and was later rejected by the Constitutional Court.
In April 2014, the Chilean Parliament passed a bill prohibiting the use of plastic bags in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. In October 2017, the then President Bachelet signed a bill requiring businesses in 102 coastal towns in Chile to ban merchants from providing Plastic bag.