According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the plastic industry in Costa Rica is the third largest in the country, and they are also biggest importers of plastic in all Central America.

An estimated 550 tons of plastic are dumped daily in Costa Rica; 80% of which end up in the ocean, 11% in landfills and dump sites, while only 9% are recycled.

Making Costa Rica a plastic free zone is the National Strategy for the Substitution of Single Use Plastics through the collective and voluntary action of public and private sectors as well as the society in general.

The strategy is an initiative of the Costa Rica–United States Foundation in alliance with the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the UNDP and promotes the implementation of fiscal incentives for the elimination of single use plastic in Municipalities; policies and directives in the different institutions, investigation and development of alternative products to plastic, and the promotion of projects that manufacture plastic alternatives.

Despite Costa Rica’s reputation as a “green country” has the most contaminated river in Central America, Grande de Tarcoles, with the consequent effects this has on the environment and human health.

Citing information from an investigative article published in Tec.ac.cr by Irina Grajales, despite the efforts the country makes to take care of the environment, experts agree that one of the biggest weaknesses is the inexistence of a law that regulates the use of plastic”. There isn’t a law right now that establishes taxes or creates prohibitions for the use of plastic.

There are currently several proposals and projects in the Legislative Assembly that aim to fill this gap and create a real impact on the elimination of single use plastic.