Biodegradable Plastic Use On Rise In Costa
Rica
Uses of biodegradable plastic bags in Costa
Rica has increased significantly in the last
three years as a result of an intensified
climate conservation campaign across the
country and in Central America. Consumers
are now purchasing disposable and
environment friendly plastic containers,
bags and bottles.
Such products are gaining ground in less
than three years after the technology came
in the market, said Silvia Vega, CEO of
Milenio Tres, distributor of D2W technology
used to convert plastics into degradable
material.
Although biodegradable products make up less
than 10 percent of all plastics on the
market in the Central American country, the
trend is towards continued rapid growth, she
said.
The increased use of “green” products in
Costa Rica is part of a worldwide trend;
among other Central American countries that
have embraced oxo-biodegradable plastics are
El Salvador and Guatemala.
According to Milenio Tres, close to 220
million tonnes of plastic is produced
annually worldwide and approximately 20
million tonnes of plastic debris end up in
rivers and oceans.
The company also estimates that 90 percent
of the plastic made since 1930 remains
somewhere on the planet as rubbish without
decomposing, polluting earth, air and water.
International environmental watchdogs say
nearly one million seabirds die annually
from ingesting plastic, while turtles in
oceans all over the world mistake floating
plastic bags and sheets for jellyfish and
choke to death.
In Costa Rica, roughly 4,500 tonnes of urban
solid waste is produced every day. Of them,
approximately 30 percent ends up in rivers
and oceans.
Oxo-biodegradable plastic is anywhere from
between five percent and 10 percent more
expensive to manufacture, Vega said, but
there are ways to bring that cost down.
“In reality, this cost is nothing compared
to the environmental benefit of having waste
that will decompose instead of accumulating
on the planet for decades,” Vega said.
D2W technology is used in more than 90
countries and has been approved in
accordance with international guidelines,
including those of the US Food and Drug
Administration.
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