Soundings August 2019
Over the course of just a few days earlier this month, the scene at grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, and businesses in Loreto took on a decidedly “greener” hue. The state law, passed by the state's Chamber of Deputies on July 18, 2018, went into effect on August 16 – requiring stores to stop providing free single-use plastic grocery bags, plastic straws, and styrofoam takeout containers. At nearly every store monitored in the days following the deadline, plastics were scarce – being replaced by paper bags, cloth bags, and in some cases shoppers simply wheeling their shopping carts directly to the parking lot without using bags at all.