On May 16, 2024, Peru’s Ministry of Production proposed updating the technical regulation on the components and labelling of reusable and other types of plastic bags in the country. The proposal is meant to help improve the chemical safety and environmental effects of the bags as well as consumer understanding of how to dispose of them.
The Ministry’s draft regulation includes sections to limit heavy metals, “[t]he concentration of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium together should not be greater than 100 ppm by weight of the reusable plastic bag,” bans the use of substances that accelerate fragmentation or that are dangerous for human health or the environment, and mandates use of pre- and post-consumer recycled material. It also outlines labeling requirements for every plastic bag in order to “reduce information asymmetry in the consumption chain.”
The labels must describe information about the manufacturer, the polymer type and recycled content, and describe how to properly return the bag for reuse or dispose of the bag when it can no longer be reused. If facilities to reuse or recycle the bags are not available or at a sufficient scale in Peru, then instead the bag must be printed with “In our country there is a limited availability of programs and/or infrastructure of plastic bags recycling.”
Eco-claims would also be banned including phrases like “environmentally friendly”, “green”, “eco”, etc. Similar to recent regulations in Europe (FPF reported).
Peru shared the proposed changes with the World Trade Organization on May 30, 2024. Along with the regulation is a 90-page report outlining the motivations for the proposal that includes local information on the use and disposal of plastics in Peru. The technical regulation is open for comment until August 14, 2024.
Reference
Ministry of Production (May 16, 2024). “Resolución Ministerial N.° 206-2024-PRODUCE.” Government of Peru. (in Spanish)
