Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
25/01/2012
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
Cardboard boxes and reusable bags will be options for at least 80% of supermarkets in Sao Paulo State
On Wednesday, at least 80% of supermarkets in Sao Paulo State will no longer provide plastic bags for their customers. Cardboard boxes and reusable bags are the most common options offered by the networks. Whosoever will, may also purchase biodegradable bags for about R$ 0.20.
The initiative to take the bags of cash is the result of an agreement between the Paulista Association of Supermarkets (Apas) and the state government of Sao Paulo. It is preferred that path to the adoption of a law. "We opted for dialogue with the industry," says Secretary of the Environment, Bruno Covas.
"The agreement is voluntary on the part of networks." He notes that some cities, like Jundiaí, came to pass legislation to ban the bags, but were deemed unconstitutional. In the case of Jundiai, after the city signed an agreement with local supermarkets and obtained the result that is not gained through the law.
For environmentalists and public officials, the measure has an important symbolic value. Although the bags represent only a small portion of the total volume of waste disposed, have the merit of bringing into the daily lives of people concerned with sustainability, says Fernanda Daltro, manager of sustainable consumption of the Ministry of Environment. "People learn to separate dry waste from wet, which is what we really need the plastic bag to make a mess."
The president of Plastivida, which represents institutionally the plastics industry, criticized the measure. "This law was passed by economic interests (the supermarket) and not environmentally or socially." He estimates R$ 500 million in the economics of networks with the constraint. "They'll pass the savings to customers? I doubt it."
Ligia Korkes, Group Sustainability Manager Sugarloaf - owner of the namesake networking and Extra - says that the money obtained from the economics of plastic bags and selling of reusable bags will go to the group's sustainability initiatives.
Source: News Ig
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.