Chile initiates Public Consultation Process of the Draft Regulation of the Single-Use Plastics Law

On 31 January, the Ministry of the Environment approved the draft regulation of Law No. 21.368, which regulates the disposal of single-use plastics and plastic bottles and modifies the legal bodies it indicates—better known as the Single-Use Plastics Law—and submitted it for public consultation.

In Chile, approximately 23,000 tonnes of waste from single-use plastics are generated, with a significant percentage ending up in the sea or left in landfills, rivers, parks, and public roads. The Single-Use Plastics Law, enacted in August 2021, aims to protect the environment and reduce waste generation by limiting the supply of single-use products in plastic and regulating disposable plastic bottles.

The Act primarily regulates two matters. Firstly, the dispensing of single-use products in food establishments, and secondly, the management of both returnable and disposable plastic bottles for beverages.

The regulation aims to establish requirements and procedures for the granting of the certificates outlined in the Law, as well as to specify other obligations established in the Law.

The preliminary draft will be open for public consultation for a period of 35 working days (until 27 March) through the public consultation platform https://consultasciudadanas.mma.gob.cl/portal. During this time, all those interested in the regulation are invited to inform themselves, participate, and incorporate their opinions or observations on the aforementioned platform or in writing at the Office of Parties of the same or at the corresponding Regional Ministerial Secretariats of the Environment.

This citizen consultation process includes webinars and talks to provide information about the Law and the draft regulation in particular.