The Municipality of San Jose, signed an agreement with Marviva Foundation through which they will support actions involving businesses and the general population to begin eliminating the use of single use plastic which represents 80% of the waste that is accumulated in the oceans.

Concerned for the amount of waste that is generated in a daily basis and the repercussions this has in the environment including marine life, other municipalities are also joining the campaign #ChaoPlasticoDesechable (GoodbyeDisposablePlastic) which is promoted by Marviva .

“The idea is to stop using, entirely, single use plastic, the bottles we dispose of once we have drank bottled water, when we ask for beverages to go, straws in a restaurant or when we use supermarket bags”, explained Jorge Jimenez, director of Marviva.

“Currently, we recycle under 2% of the plastic, and this ends up in landfills, rivers and beaches in the country. Sadly the majority of it ends up in our coasts, this is the equivalent of 13 trucks of plastic a day… we have thrown to the ocean more plastic in the last decade than in the last 200 years”, continued Jimenez.

The initiative is already being implemented in Paseo Gastronomico La Luz (the gastronomy plaza) in Barrio Escalante. For now, businesses can join the initiative voluntarily, and the hope is that more and more businesses begin taking part of this campaign throughout the San Jose county.

Businesses that are taking part of the campaign will receive a seal that certifies it as a plastic free zone, signs with information for the customers will also be provided.

Other efforts include the initiative carried out by the organization Zona Libre de Plastico (Plastic Free Zone) which expects that by 2021 80% of the counties will modify their regulations to approve permits to include actions to discourage the consumption of single use plastic and replace it for environmentally friendly options.

“We have been working on having a more human, competitive and functional city, but also a more sustainable city (…). We want to call on the citizens to take part of this effort”, stated Johnny Araya, Major of San Jose.

The Municipality will begin implementing changes internally to decrease the consumption of single use plastic and serve as an example to the community and other institutions. They will also consider the creation of incentives for businesses that are committed to this cause.