Feiplastic ’19: Sao Paulo expected to ban plastic straws

William Lemos

23-Apr-2019

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Brazil’s largest city of Sao Paulo is expected to ban the use of plastic straws in a setback for the local industry, which this week is hosting a major event in the city.

The bill was approved by lawmakers last week and the mayor of Sao Paulo (12m inhabitants) is widely expected to sign the ban into law, according to local media reports.

The ban would prohibit businesses from selling drinks with plastic straws and violators could be fined up to reais (R) 8,000 ($2,030) under the legislation.

Sao Paulo would not be the first Brazilian city to ban straws. Seven other cities and one entire Brazilian state have already sanctioned legislation that bans them.

The Brazilian Plastics Association (Abiplast) said prohibiting the use of plastics was not the way to deal with the impact of plastics on the environment.

One of the solutions is to educate consumers on how to dispose of plastics, Abiplast said on the sidelines of Feiplastic, the plastics trade show held in Sao Paulo every two years.

Abiplast also said higher recycling rates would be one way to address the problem of plastic waste.

Brazil recycles 23% of plastics with short to medium-term use, according to Abiplast. The group would like to see an increase of 1% a year over the coming years.

Feira Internacional do Plastico (Feiplastic) takes place on 22-26 April in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Picture source: Jochen Tack/imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock

($1 = R3.94)

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