NGOs criticize US for sending plastic waste to Latin America – 12/17/2021

MIAMI, Dec. 16 (EFE) .- More than 70 environmental organizations have signed a declaration on Thursday calling on the United States, a major exporter of thousands of tons, to reject the plastic waste cross-border trade to Latin America. Manage non-compostable waste in your area.

According to data provided by USA Trade Online, launched today by the United States International Free Trade Database and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (Gaia), between January and August 2020, 44,173 tons of plastic waste arrived in 15 Latin American countries from the United States.

According to Gaya, Mexico, El Salvador and Ecuador are the major importers of plastic waste in the region, making them the countries most at risk for material pollution.

Between January and August 2020 alone, Mexico received 32,650 tons of waste, while El Salvador and Ecuador received 4,054 and 3,665 tons, respectively.

“Latin America is not a dumpster. We reject the cross-border trade of plastic waste in the global south,” Gaia said in a public statement, which is followed by about 70 companies worldwide.

These systems include Acción Ecológica from Ecuador; Allianza Pasura Zero from Chile; Various American organizations such as Tanzania’s Nip Fagio and Social Research. The document was signed by European and Australian environmental organizations.

“Companies that adhere to this declaration reject and are aware of the risk of Latin America becoming a growing destination for global plastic waste, after China stopped such imports in 2018 to protect its territory from pollution,” the note highlights.

Between January and August 2020, the United States shipped at least 35 containers of plastic waste a day to Latin America, according to the report, which led to a more than 100% increase in plastic waste exports from the United States to certain countries in the region. That year.

“Instead of implementing adequate measures to reduce waste domestically, the United States maintains waste colonization, dumping this toxic pollution into other countries,” Melissa Aguio, U.S. coordinator for the “Break Free Plastic” organization, condemned in the note.

“We are in solidarity with our Latin American partners and allies. They must stop their national governments from accepting waste imports,” he added.

According to California-based Gaya, the current trade in plastic waste is driven by vague and common tariff classifications, making it difficult to return to its final use.

“Globally, there is growing concern about sending plastic waste from major powers such as the United States, which exports large quantities of plastic waste, and to countries with weak laws and regulations that have not been signed at the Basel Conference, such as Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa,” the report concludes. EFE