On June 25, 2019 a decree amending the Federal District Law for Solid Waste (“Amendment Decree”) was published in the Official Gazette of Mexico City and entered into force on the day following its publication.
The Amendment Decree prohibits the commercialization, distribution and delivery of various single-use plastics, such as products made wholly or partly of plastic and which are not intended to be reused.
Among others, the products which the amendment decree bans from commercialization, distribution and delivery are plastic bags, forks, knives, spoons, mixing sticks, plates, straws, cotton swabs, coffee capsules and balloons.
These prohibitions will enter into force progressively as indicated below:
From 2020
- Prohibited to commercialize, distribute and deliver plastic bags to the consumer at points of sale of goods or products, unless they are compostable
From January 1, 2021
- Prohibited to commercialize, distribute and deliver products containing intentionally added microplastics
- Prohibited to commercialize, distribute and deliver forks, knives, spoons, mixing sticks, plates, straws, cotton swabs and balloons, among others
- Prohibited to commercialize, distribute and deliver single-use coffee capsules, made of low-utilization plastic material
It is considered that, due its particular characteristics, the Amendment Decree generates damage to plastic producers and traders from the moment of its entry into force since it imposes an obligation to substitute inputs that are essential for the merchandising of different products.
In this context, the means of defense against the prohibitions and obligations established in the Amendment Decree is the Amparo Action (Mexico’s constitutional remedy), which must be filed before August 6, 2019.
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