The penalties included in the regulation contemplate fines according to the size of the plastic producing company.
The Ministry of the Environment (Minam) pre-published the draft regulation of the law that regulates single-use plastic and disposable containers or packaging, published in December last year. This regulation includes the identification of mechanisms to evaluate the progressive reduction of single-use plastic.
The regulation would apply to all persons and companies, public or private, that manufacture, import, distribute, commercialize, deliver, use and consume plastic bags provided by commercial establishments of goods or services to consumers, including in the case of virtual purchases, straws, cups, plastic utensils in general, PET bottles for beverages, personal hygiene and cleaning. Minam does not rule out the extension of this list.
In order to comply with the regulation, Minam proposes to supervise the obligations granted to individuals and companies, imposing penalties from six UIT (S/25,200) for micro-companies in serious fines, up to 130 UIT (S/546,000) for medium and large companies in very serious fines. Among the possible infractions are the delivery of plastic bags or straws, as well as the sale of these products in commercial activities, and the manufacture of plastic utensils for the internal use of commerce. These would be fined with six UIT if it is a micro company and 90 UIT (S/294,000) for medium and large companies.
This pre-publication indicates that plastic producers can implement eco-design, technological improvement, waste utilization, among other models that contribute to the objective of the standard.
Likewise, these companies must annually provide information on the goods within the scope of application, as well as carry out education, awareness and communication actions on the responsible use of plastic and the impact of their waste on the environment. Finally, they will have the obligation to contribute to the solid waste segregation systems within the framework of the Programs of Segregation at the Source and the Selective Collection of Solid Waste, in order to allow the recovery of such waste.
Companies subject to the application of this regulation must register in the registry of manufacturers, importers and distributors of plastic goods, in order to collect and systematize information on the goods produced. The aim is to generate statistics and indicators to measure the effectiveness of the implementation of this regulation. This registry will be in charge of Minam.
In addition, the Permanent Multisectorial Commission for the integrated management of single-use plastic will be created with the objective of proposing policies and guidelines for the integrated management of plastic and the transition to the circular economy.
This project is awaiting comments on Minam's web portal until Friday, June 14.
