Mexico City — Mexican legislators have unanimously endorsed a proposed law that will require numerous plastic products to contain 20 percent recycled materials by 2025, and 30 percent by 2030.
The Mexican senate unanimously approved the so-called Ley General de Economía Circular by a vote of 87-0 on Nov. 17. The Morena-sponsored initiative now passes to the chamber of deputies, which is unlikely to raise any serious objections.
Morena (Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional) is the party of Mexico's left-wing populist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and dominates national politics.
The proposed legislation, which excludes certain medical and food products, also foresees regulating the activities of 2.5 million pepenadores, or scavengers, who collect recycled plastic and other commodities. The law's proponents want them to be taken out of the so-called informal economy and their activities taxed.
According to congressional TV channel Canal del Congreso, the proposals seek to "retain the value of products, materials and resources for as long as possible and thus reduce to a minimum the generation of waste. It also aims to encourage the development of recycling technology."
During a debate on the circular economy, opposition Sen. Xóchitl Gálvez Ruiz of the Partido Acción Nacional said: "If it works as it should, it could reduce industrial waste and emissions by 80-90 percent."