Hearing analyzes repealing law that bans single use plastics, reusable bags.

Tourism, Natural Resources, and Environment Committee Vice President Marissita Jiménez Santoni, Majority Leader Gregorio Matías Rosario and Majority Senator Héctor Joaquín Sánchez Álvarez. 

By THE STAR STAFF

The Tourism, Natural Resources, and Environment Committee, led by Senate Vice President Marissita Jiménez Santoni, held a public hearing to review Senate Bill 900, introduced by Majority Leader Gregorio Matías Rosario, which addresses public policy for managing single-use plastics.

At the hearing Tuesday, the Committee looked at a bill that would repeal Law No. 247-2015, known as the “Law for the Promotion of Reusable Bags,” and Law No. 51-2022, which bans single-use plastics in stores. Instead of just banning plastics, the bill wants to use new ways to raise environmental awareness and provide economic incentives to cut down on plastic use.

“People often complain about having to buy bags. Not only do they pay for them, but they also end up advertising the supermarket’s name. Senator Gregorio Matías and I support protecting the environment, but we also need to protect consumers,” Jiménez said.

Matías explained that the bill is flexible. “We can allow paper bags without charging customers. Some changes came from businesses that stopped offering all types of bags to bring in new ones. When the bill talks about incentives, businesses can choose not to charge for paper bags. The Secretary of Finance might help merchants cover these costs,” the majority leader said.

Karla Marrero and Antonio Ríos from the DRNA took part in the hearing and backed the bill. Marrero said Senate Bill 900 boosts environmental education and encourages alternatives to single-use plastics. She also said the DRNA supports the bill and is ready to help with putting it into action.

Matías asked whether there had been research on plastic bags. Ríos replied that there had not, but noted a separate study: the initial characterization in 2003 and the current one in 2023, reported in 2024. He emphasized that education is critical to understanding the law’s purpose.

Majority Senator Héctor Joaquín Sánchez Álvarez said it’s important to carefully study the effects before repealing Law 247-2015. He pointed out the law affects many agencies and is important to ongoing talks about consumer protection in his committee.

Sánchez then asked the DRNA if they are ready for such a big effort, considering all the work the bill requires. Marrero said yes. “As we said, the DRNA’s policy is to repeal this law, and we want to stress that. Law 70, which would stay in place, includes a plastic bag recycling program in Article 18. We can work with that law, make changes, and adjust it to use as a foundation,” she added.

On the other side, attorney Francisco Aquino Serrano spoke for CAMBIO PR. He said, “We strongly oppose the repeal. Senate Bill 900 would undo effective steps against plastic pollution, depend only on voluntary market actions, and weaken the current system that helps us push for real changes to reduce the tax burden on polluters.”

“Since it took effect, Law 247-2015 has had clear positive effects on Puerto Rico’s coastal and marine environment. Data from the Scuba Dogs Society, collected during the International Coastal Cleanup, shows a big drop in plastic bags found during cleanups since 2016,” Aquino said. Because of this, he suggested changes to the bill.

These changes included removing Articles 1 and 2, which repeal Law 247-2015 and Law 51-2022; keeping the signage and campaign as support measures but clearly aimed at helping comply with those laws; and turning the monetary incentive or tax credit in Article 4 into a real, clear program by adding it to the bill and Law 60-2019. “This will take careful planning, and CAMBIO is ready to help the Commission with that,” he said. He also noted that plastic bags are not recyclable. “For example, the campaign run by Limpiar (Clean Up), a private non-profit group in Loíza, focuses on educating the community about recycling plastics like bottles and containers, but not plastic bags.” When Matías asked about stores still selling bags, Aquino agreed but said, “This law should be changed, not repealed. It needs to ban the ongoing distribution of plastic bags. That’s the step we need. We can help write the changes to make that happen.”