Merida, Yucatan — A citizen initiative to ban single-use plastics in the country was formally presented to the Senate.
Such a national law would restrict plastic bags and drinking straws to combat water pollution, prevent damage to flora and fauna and educate the public to choose environmentally friendly options.
“A call is made to the conservation of water and life, and ecosystems in the Peninsula, in Merida, which will have a key position in socio-environmental governance,” said Olga Diaz Ordaz Terrones, president of Fundación Chalchi A.C., at a press conference at Parque de la Madre.
The foundation presented the initiative in the Senate during the First Forum of Analysis of the Mexican Environmental Policy, and before the incoming secretary of the environment.
While the proposal is national, the group chose to announce it in Merida because the Yucatan Peninsula will be key in the country’s environmental policies, she said.
She also said that they already met with Sayda Rodríguez Gómez, head of the Seduma, and with local legislators to explain this initiative.
They were exposed to the concern to take immediate action to replicate the proposal.
The civil association managed to get the Veracruz state legislature to approve such an initiative in May. This reform was replicated in Baja California, Tamaulipas and Jalisco. And Yucatan is expected to follow in their footsteps, said Olga Día.
Source: Diario de Yucatán
