Fines for giving or selling plastic bags in Tijuana begin on Sunday

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In an interview for San Diego Red, the founder of the civil association “Naturalus”Arturo Ángeles Castro, reported that as of Sunday, September 20, fines will begin for merchants, businesses, or companies that grant (give away, sell, rent, lend) plastic bags in Tijuana.

According to the biologist Ángeles, this initiative in which his association collaborated along with others located in Tijuana and San Diego, seeks to prohibit the use of plastic t-shirt bags, whether biodegradable or not, which allow the transport of the store’s products to the house; This is due to the negative impact that this type of material causes on the environment.

“You have the idea that what biodegrades disappears, but plastic never, ever, never disappears. The only thing that happens is that the plastic products with the movement of the waves and the ultraviolet rays are breaking apart and those pieces are becoming smaller, smaller, smaller until they are microscopic. We stop seeing them, but 100% of the product is still contaminated but only spread throughout the sea. Plastic bags are the same case ”, explained the expert.

Thus, being a lethal threat to marine biodiversity and to humans, since once this plastic becomes a microplastic it can cause different diseases such as cancer; The reform was approved in August 2018 by the Tijuana city ​​council, thus modifying the Environmental Protection Regulation, entering into force in March 2019 and until September 2020, fines will begin for merchants or businesses that provide this product.

Multas por dar o vender bolsas de plástico en Tijuana inician el domingo -  SanDiegoRed.com

The fines, which will range ” from 880 pesos to 26,400 pesos depending on the incidence and size of the company” confirmed Arturo Ángeles, it was decided to apply them until now to “give them time to make the transition gradually, without having repercussions, without affecting the economy or the company’s business model ”.

“They wanted everyone to win with this reform, they wanted the environment to win and obviously all of us, to win the commerce in Tijuana and the city’s infrastructure, because plastic bags cover the storm drain and cause flooding”, held Angels for San Diego Red.

re all plastic bags prohibited? As indicated by the director of Naturalus, “small plastic bags to store fruit or vegetables, or plastic bags to store frozen food or food that is already packaged in plastic bags, for example, bread, are not prohibited.”

If before the pandemic “it was already predicted that by 2050 I would see more plastic than fish in the sea, with the pandemic we are using much more plastic, the probability that the amount of plastic will exceed the amount of fish before the year increased. 2050, ” said Arturo.

So if you are one of those who, with the Covid-19 pandemic, stopped using their cloth or reusable bags for fear of contagion, the biologist mentioned that “the coronavirus is no excuse to abandon certain environmental conservation practices that are already in practice. Besides, plastic is material as sterile or not, like other types of material. In fact, the coronavirus virus survives 3 days in plastic, so plastic is not the perfect solution to avoid infecting you ”.

Now you know, if this weekend you are going to go to the supermarket, don’t be caught off guard having to carry everything in your hands or in the shopping cart. In fact, this change has already been noticed in some stores in the city. What the founder of this association, in charge of raising awareness about environmental care, recommends is to use the bags YOU ALREADY HAVE, or buy reusable cloth bags, use boxes, baskets, or you can even make a bag yourself with old clothes.

At least in Tijuana , 10.2 million plastic bags are thrown away every week . And you, are you for or against this ban?

Ve si inician este miércoles las multas por dar bolsas de plástico

Source: sandiegored.com

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