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Loading ...A New Twist to Recyclables for Electricity Programs
Monday, September 21st, 2009I’ve posted in the past about innovative Brazilian programs in the states of Ceará (CE), Mato Grosso (MT) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ) to get people to turn in recyclables in exchange for getting a reduction in their monthly electric power bill. One of the programs I liked was Consciência EcoAmpla, run by Endesa‘s subsidiary […]
SEAM Proposes Supermarket Role in Changing Waste Management
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009Paraguay’s Environment Minister José Luis Casaccia met with representatives of the Paraguayan Chamber of Supermarkets (CAPASU) to push for all supermarkets in the country to promote the use of reusable cloth bags for carrying away the products they buy, rather than polyethylene bags, which the Environment Secretariat (SEAM) considers a major sort of litter in […]
Uruguay Launches Campaign Against Plastic Bags
Monday, March 9th, 2009It’s beginning to look like Uruguay will be the next Latin American jurisdiction to take aim at plastic bags. Uruguay’s Minister of Housing, Zoning and Environment Carlos Colacce, with the British Ambassador at his side, announced today the launch of a media campaign on the responsible use of plastic bags to be known as “Sacá […]
Mexico’s Superama Chain to Recycle Plastic Bags
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009Mexico’s Superama supermarket chain, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart de Mexico, has launched a campaign to collect and recycle plastic shopping bags. The chain hopes to recycle at least one million bags annually, and notes that if they only meet (but not excede, as they hope to do) this goal, they will save 59.6 metric tons […]
Wal-Mart’s Plastic Bag Reduction Strategy in Central America
Thursday, January 15th, 2009Wal-Mart Central America is pursuing an interesting strategy to achieve its announced target of a 50% reduction in plastic bag use in its more than 500 stores in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua by 2013. Whereas its brethren in Brazil have elected to offer discounts for consumers bringing their own alternatives to […]
Wal-Mart Brasil Provides Discounts for Not Using Plastic Bags
Saturday, November 29th, 2008Wal-Mart Brasil is pursuing an interesting strategy to achieve its announced target of a 50% reduction in plastic bag use in its 340 stores by 2013. It just launched a campaign in its nine Bompreço stores in the northeastern capitals of Recife, Pernambuco and Salvador, Bahia, whereby it gives an automatic discount to customers that […]
Wal-Mart’s Commitment to Reduce Plastic Bag Use in LAC
Friday, September 26th, 2008Perhaps you’ve heard of Wal-Mart’s commitment to reduce plastic shopping bag use (or “carry bags” as my British friends call it) in its US stores 25% and in its international stores by 50% by 2013. Some people are not impressed. I am — at least regarding the international commitment as it applies to Latin America […]
Buenos Aires Bans Non-Biodegradable Plastic Bags
Saturday, September 13th, 2008The Province of Buenos Aires (PBA) just became the latest Latin American jurisdiction to prohibit retailers from offering non-biodegradable plastic carry bags. The provincial government is trumpeting the new law as one banning polyethylene (PE) and other plastic carry bags, but a careful reading of the law shows that it only bans non-biodegradable plastic bags. […]
Biodegradable Containers Made from Sugarcane Waste
Monday, August 4th, 2008Synopsis in English: Three biotech enterprises and a university from the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (MG) have developed a biodegradable material made from sugarcane waste (bagasse) which they believe will be shortly be available for the manufacture of packaging and containers. The three firms (Viveiro Flora Brasil, Lótus Soluções Ambientais, Floema Nutrição Vegetal) and […]
Are Biodegradable Plastic Bags Really Better?
Saturday, September 22nd, 2007In my rant last June about unnecessary plastic wrap being praised by Chile’s Environment Minister simply because it is “biodegradable,” I promised a guest post from an expert who can explain better than I can the debate over whether “biodegradable” plastic bags are really a substantial improvement over conventional plastic bags. I’m happy to publish […]