Five years after the approval of a state law that ended the mandatory supply of plastic bags by retailers, around 16 billion units were no longer produced. The estimate is from Asserj, an association that brings together the state’s supermarkets.
Author of the project, state deputy Carlos Minc (PSB) argued that the bags only clogged rivers and canals, caused floods and suffocated dolphins and turtles. The law now requires that they be reusable and made from renewable materials.
Before the new standard came into force in 2019, supermarkets in the state of Rio de Janeiro distributed approximately 4 billion plastic bags per year.
It is estimated that since the implementation of the legislation, the consumption of bags has been reduced by around 80%.
As each conventional plastic bag contains an average of between 10 and 12 grams of material, the calculation is that 81.6 thousand tons of plastic were no longer discarded.
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