State of São Paulo will cast plastic straw

SÃO PAULO-The governor of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), announced that it will sanction the bill approved last week by the Legislative Assembly prohibiting the distribution of plastic straws by trade throughout the state. He must sign the law in the next 15 days. This Tuesday, the mayor of São Paulo, Bruno Covas (PSDB), sanctioned text with the same rules, but only valid in the municipality. According to the press office of the Bandeirantes Palace, Doria said to be favorable to the measure and will sanction it, but there is a detail to be studied: the guarantee of access to straits for people with disabilities who have difficulty to ingest food without them. The concern arose after the governor's conversation with Senator Mara Gabrilli (PSDB), who acts in defense of this public. The text, authored by Deputy Rogério Nogueira (DEM), provides a fine ranging from R $530.60 to R $5,306 for establishments that disrespect the rule, with twice the value in case of recurrence. The amount raised with the fines will be "stamped", that is, intended exclusively for environmental programs. The state Government will have one year to regulate this norm. In its justification, Nogueira states that the prohibition aims to stimulate "the production of more sustainable products and, consequently, the reduction of waste harmful to the environment". In the country, the first city to approve type restriction was Rio. In addition to Salvador, Rio Grande do Norte and the Federal district are some of the places that already prohibit straws. In São Paulo, the text approved by Covas has a maturity of 180 days to be regulated. The punishment planned for bars, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs and other establishments are heavier: a fine of R $1000 in the first infringement and twice the value in the following notices until the sixth flagrant, when there is the administrative closure of the site. In municipal and state law, there is the release of the sale of straits in supermarkets, which guarantees the access of the product to people with special needs. In the capital, high gastronomy already led the movement to ban the use of straws before the law was approved. In the Maní group (which includes four restaurants in the Jardim Paulistano, South Zone) The plastic straits were exchanged for a biodegradable version in March last year. In October, these models were also abolished and now only customers who ask are given a model of stainless steel. "When we started this process, many customers questioned, because they did not agree not to have the straw in the juice. But with awareness, it already has the movement of people who bring their own straw, "says Gláucia Ferrari, director of HR and network attendance. In the Korean restaurant Komah, from Barra Funda, West Zone, chef Paulo Shin states that since the House opened, in 2016, the option was for not using plastic straits to avoid unnecessary garbage production. Then, until the Hashi (the wooden rods used as cutlery) were replaced by reusable material. "The amount of garbage that was produced was impressive." Impacts There are no accurate data on drinking straws in São Paulo. The Brazilian Association of Plastic Industry (Abiplast) states that only 0.03% of the approximately 6 million tons of plastic produced in the country per year are straits-which would give something around 1800 tons. The CEO of the Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and special waste companies (ABRELPE), Carlos Silva Filho, estimates that the total production of waste in the country should grow 25% up to 2050 and the theme "needs to be faced with structuring actions and Education and environmental awareness among the population ". But, according to him, only the banishment of straws "concentrates on a single item virtually all responsibility for pollution and environmental damage resulting from inefficient management and inadequate disposal of solid waste." Rio expects to take 3 billion bags of circulation per year Rio expects to reduce in no less than 3 billion a year the number of plastic bags in circulation in the state. It enters into force today a law prohibiting the distribution and sale of disposable bags in commercial establishments. According to the association of Supermarkets Fluminense, the current consumption of conventional bags, produced 100% with oil, is 4 billion per year. With the prohibition, the markets will offer new bags, produced with at least 51% of renewable sources, such as maize and sugarcane, which can be reused for up to 50 times. "Currently, there are 20 billion bags in just five years," stressed state Congressman Carlos Minc (PSB), author of the law. "Of course the environment can't handle it." By December, the markets will distribute free two recyclable bags to each customer. Anyone who wants to use more will need to pay R $0.08 per unit. From January, all will be charged. And even these bags should have their use gradually reduced already from next year. The goal is to improve situations such as Guanabara Bay, as the director of AquaRio, marine biologist Marcelo Szpilmann, says. "Today, the biggest problem is the garbage discarded incorrectly in the rivers that flow into the bay, where we have real plastic islands."/Roberta Jansen and Denise Luna