What about Saint Martin?
Plastic bags for single use with a thickness of less than 50 microns, free or paid, are prohibited since July 1, 2016.
Merchants can offer reusable bags made from a material other than plastic at the checkout.
A new law which is far from being respected in Saint-Martin, traders in many stores such as convenience stores continue to blithely distribute plastic bags.
Which businesses are affected?
All businesses are affected by the ban on the distribution of plastic bags:
• distribution banners: convenience stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, frozen food stores, etc.
• specialized food stores: butcher, bakery, fruit and vegetables, fishmonger, etc.
• non-food specialty stores: bookstore, pharmacy, gas stations, tobacco, etc.
• indoor and outdoor markets.
What bags can we use today?
Today, only can be distributed to pack the goods in points of sale:
• reusable plastic bags over 50 µm thick (sold or not at the box), regardless of the plastic used,
• bags for food packaging, distributed in butchery, fishmonger or for weighing fruit and vegetables in bulk for example, whatever the thickness and the plastic used,
• bags made of a material other than plastic (paper, cardboard, fabric, etc.),
• compostable bags made from bio-based materials, that is to say based on vegetable matter, provided they are more than 50 µm thick if they are distributed in boxes.
From January 1, 2017
Outside the boxes, traders will have the obligation to use paper or bio-based plastic bags that can be composted as domestic compostable for weighing fruits and vegetables, cut cheeses, meat or fish.
In 2020, it will be the turn of disposable plastic tableware (goblets, glasses and disposable plates) to be prohibited, unless it is compostable in domestic composting and made of bio-based materials.
In short, in Saint-Martin, it would be good to educate consumers now and encourage them to change their daily habits. Plastic bags are an ordeal for the environment! _AF
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