BUENOS AIRES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2019) Panama will be the first Central American country to ban supermarkets, smaller retailers and pharmacies from using plastic bags, beginning on Saturday.
According to a bill, cited by La Prensa news outlet, retailers and customers will only be able to use reusable shopping bags.
On Saturday, Panama's consumer protection authority planned to carry out a series of checks to see how the law is being implemented. Fines paid by those who violated the law will go to a special fund, financing recycling projects.
Moreover, beginning in January, the ban will also entail warehouses and wholesale stores.
Other Latin American countries are implementing measures to abandon plastic. For example, Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires has banned plastic straws.
Chile has banned plastic bags in more than a hundred coastline areas, while Peru will fully prohibit the use of plastic bags, containers and straws in three years.
