Environmental organizations denounced on Tuesday that various legislative initiatives and actions promoted by the Mexican government favor the plastic industry under the argument of promoting a “circular economy”, but in reality they seek to perpetuate the production of single -use plastics in the country.
The groups warned that these measures contradict the judicial judgment of August 2024 that ordered the Congress to prohibit the production, distribution and consumption of single -use plastics, recognizing its impact on health and the environment.
Among the initiatives indicated is one that proposes to issue a new General Law of Circular Economics and Comprehensive Waste Management, which repeals the law currently in force and postpones the prohibition of single -use plastics until 2040.
The proposal, they denounced, “works as a armor” that prevents fulfilling the amparo and classifies plastics as “strategic waste”, encouraging their production.
Other proposed proposals exclude transparent PET – one of the most polluting materials – or prioritize recycling and “energy valorization” without attending the hierarchy in waste management.
The organizations also criticized the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, which they accused of promoting a circular economy law without transparency or public consultation, while driving alliances with large corporations as part of the circular economy development pole for well -being, which includes an industrial park project in Hidalgo.
“These initiatives are not solutions, they are ‘Greenwashing’ strategies disguised as circular economy. The federal government and some legislators are yielding to the interests of the plastic industry,” said Viridiana Lázaro, of Greenpeace Mexico.
According to Ana Larrañaga, of The Power of the Consumer, among the beneficiaries are large corporations such as Pepsico, Danone, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Walmart, through the Ecoce group, which “operates as a facade to maintain the pollutant production model.”
Larisa de Orbe, of ecological action, warned that projects such as Hidalgo “condemn communities already affected by pollution, such as Tula, declared Environmental and Health Emergency Region.”
The organizations demanded that Congress and the Executive comply with the judicial protection, stop the initiatives that perpetuate the dependence on plastic and guarantee the protection of the affected communities.
“Mexico cannot continue betting on false solutions that put the health and future of the planet at risk. It is urgent to draw a course towards true alternatives that prioritize environmental justice,” they concluded.
With EFE information.
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