In an article published on August 7, 2017 by news provider EcoWatch, reporter Lorraine Chow informs that Costa Rica intends to realize a comprehensive national strategy to abandon single-use conventional plastics by 2021. Items such as plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, containers, tableware, and cutlery will be replaced by “biodegradable or water-soluble alternatives, or products made of renewable materials,” Chow reports. The national strategy was officially launched by the Costa Rican government on Word Environment Day (June 5) and is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), local governments, civil society, and different private sector groups.
A joint statement by Edgar Gutiérrez, Costa Rican minister of environment and energy, María Esther Anchía, Costa Rican minister of health, and Alice Shackelford, resident representative for the UNDP Costa Rica, reads: “To promote these changes, we need all sectors—public and private—to commit to actions to replace single-use plastic through five strategic actions: municipal incentives, policies and institutional guidelines for suppliers; replacement of single-use plastic products; research and development—and investment in strategic initiatives.”
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Lorraine Chow (August 7, 2017). “Costa Rica wants to become world’s first country to eliminate single-use plastics.” EcoWatch
UNDP (July 18, 2017). “Costa Rica paves the way to end single-use plastics.”
