On 23 July during a press conference organised by the Catalan Waste Agency, Jean-Pierre Hannequart, president of ACR+, presented the report elaborated by our association, entitled «Plastic Bags: Inventory of Political Instruments», which gives an overview of the different political options and instruments available in order to mitigate the negative effects of using one-single-use plastic bags.
First, Mr. Hannequart has gone through the diverse initiatives that are currently being carried out around the Mediterranean Area, highlighting « Pacto por la Bolsa », a Catalan initiative consisting in a voluntary agreement with commerce and producers, including activities such as avoiding the free distribution of plastic bags or promoting the use of reusable bags.
Secondly, Josep María Tost, Director of Catalan Waste Agency (ARC) assured that Catalonia is on the right way to reach the goal proposed in the urban waste management programme (2007-2012), which is to reduce the use of plastic bags by 50% by 2012, comparing to 2007 data. In 2011, the consumption of plastic bags was reduced by 45%, thanks to the above mentioned agreement.
The report is free of charge for ACR+ members and can be downloaded here:
www.acrplus.org/technical-reports
