Jan. 1, 2020
The State of Yucatan begins the first stage (of 3 stages) of it’s gradual ban on single-use plastic bags & straws …. So … People often imagine that the “Yucatan BANS Plastic Bags Starting Jan.1, 2020” is the headline … but it’s not quite that simple.
😉
When we read the Yucatan State’s published regs on this, the single-use plastic bag ban is a staggered implementation, rolling out in 3 gradual stages, staggered over the next 18 months.
The first stage applies to commercial establishments that are in the vicinity of cenotes, natural protected areas and ecological reserves. … These commercial establishments have six months to be in compliance (on both single use bags & straws).
The second stage requires supermarkets, self-service and convenience stores, pharmacies, markets, restaurants and the like must end their use within 12 months. (basically using up existing stocks and buying only limited new stocks of bags from existing stocks at distributors – until those distributor’s stocks are depleted).
The third stage requires the wholesale and retail sellers of single-use plastic bags & straws … to stop selling them within 18 months.
Finally … the state’s municipalities have six months to adapt their environmental regulations to reflect the new State law. As such, Yucatan’s municipios must initiate municipal programs for the substitutions and a gradual elimination of single-use plastic bags, polystyrene containers (unicel) and plastic straws.
Makes sense?
Join in … by buying our fine robust plastic mesh bags … ~ Now ~
Even the really big ones cost only $60 pesos down at the plastics stores down by our Lucas de Galvez Mercado (the “Old Market”) down at Calle 54 & Calle 65.
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Feel free to copy while giving proper attribution: YucaLandia/Surviving Yucatan.
© Steven M. Fry
Read on, MacDuff…
Surviving Yucatan 
Thanks for the explanation that’s all reasonable
Ah yes the old dependable “bolsa bag”!
No, don’t buy plastic shopping bags! Where do you think they will end up eventually? In the dump!
Buy cotton cloth bags. When they are old and worn, they will decompost.
Editors Scientific Note:
A cotton bag’s carbon footprint is 598.6 pounds of CO2 … compared to just 3.48 pounds for a standard plastic mesh bag made from high-density polyethylene.
… Organic cotton bags are even higher, because to equal a plastic mesh bag, the organic cotton must be reused 20,000 times to equal a plastic mesh bag.
We’ve got plastic mesh bags that are over 20 yrs old … 😉
and … they can be safely buried after their long lives.
Good info – except for the bag. It’s plastic! Hopefully a sewing group there will start making cotton bags.
Editors Scientific Note:
A cotton bag’s carbon footprint is 598.6 pounds of CO2 … , compared to 3.48 pounds for a standard plastic bag made from high-density polyethylene.
… Organic cotton bags are even higher, because to equal a plastic mesh bag, organic cotton must be reused 20,000 times to equal a plastic mesh bag.
Scientific Note:
A cotton bag’s carbon footprint is very large … at 598.6 pounds of CO2 … compared to 3.48 pounds for a standard plastic mesh bag made from high-density polyethylene.
… Organic cotton bags are even higher, because to equal a plastic mesh bag, organic cotton must be reused 20,000 times to equal a plastic mesh bag.
I had no idea!
The part that’s nasty about cotton bags?
Cotton is the most heavily sprayed (nasty insecticides) and heavily fertilized crop in the USA =>
Sadly … the seemingly “friendly” cotton bag, hits the trifecta … Massive carbon footprint … heavy pesticide polluter … and heavy fertilizer polluter … 😦
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Plastics should be getting banned strictly; I am completely looking forward to these types of rules to get implemented. Great post indeed!! This is really a helpful and informative post mostly for those who are still using plastic bags.
Wow…
Total ban,eh…
Cars around the world are going to spew mega-tonnes more pollution due to no more light inexpensive strong plastics, making them cost super expensive amounts … because no carpets… no plastic door handles… no plastic dash … all metal, wood cloth.
It’s super that “Welded Mesh” can afford to pay thousands of dollars more for all natural materials.
no plastic piping … just super expensive and super polluting copper mining to make only EXPENSIVE copper pipe…
and we have to go back to the Depression era … cloth covered … electrical wire … that the bugs eat the covering, and our homes catch fire….
and old really shitty cloth coverings on lamp cords… really dangerous old cloth coverings on the wires for our stoves AND MICROWAVE oven m cords …
and shitty DANGEROUS cloth coverings on electric shaver wires ..
.YES … I WANT AN ALL METAL CELL PHONE…
but wait … NO CELL PHONES possible in “Welded Mesh”‘s world, because circuit boards are made of plastic …
so NO Cell PHONES…. No modern TV’s … just ancient tube-technology natural materials….
and NO COMPUTERS … without circuit boards… without keyboards … just “Welded Mesh’s” all natural typewriters…
and only nasty fountain pens, leaking ink into our shirt pockets…
and only shitty cotton hammock threads, that fall part, degrade in the sun in just 6 months here in the Tropics.
It’s GREAT that “Welded Mesh” can afford super-expensive replacement materials for all the things that us working people use…
= = = = = ==
It’s super that “Welded Mesh” can afford very expensive all cotton sheets, while the rest of us rely on polyester and polyester blends.
It’s sad that “Welded Mesh” can afford to have millions of cows killed for their hides to make him and his family all-leather sandals, leather shoes, with expensive ~slippery~ leather soles…
and “Welded Mesh” … can afford to deny us working guys decent working boots with artificial chemical… NO SLIP … plastic rubber soles…
… no tennis shoes … no trainers … no plastics for our shoe soles … no plastics for our sandals …
no nice cushioning artificial rubber insoles in our working people’s shoes… just expensive natural materials …
no soft plush fleeces to comfort us poorer people, who can’t afford expensive lambs wool …
… no plastic racks in our fridges… just metal that RUSTS here in Yucatan…
and ONLY EXPENSIVE wooden toothbrushes …
and no … inexpensive footballs or soccer balls for the rest of us… JUST expensive leather… and pure rubber bladders…
and our fans … become HEAVY expensive metal shrouds …
and think of all the huge tons of cancer causing Nickle, and Chromium pollution from all the leather that “Welded Mesh” insists we must substitute in place of plastics…
and… even our air conditioner cases will be rusting metal inside our houses, versus simple cheaper, lighter, easy to clean easy to disinfect plastics…