by Rod Hughes

This reporter once wrote in an opinion piece in The Tico Times that the invention of plastic may have been the worst disaster to happen to this tropical paradise. The pesky material litters the streets, clogs landfills and stormdrains and poisons animals, as well as the very ground itself. Apparently two major supermarket chains in the country not only agree but are doing something about it.

In an exclusive, detailed story in the English-language weekly The Tico Times, reporter Leland Baxter-Neal recently wrote that Auto Mercado and Mas X Menos chains have begun treating the problem, the former by offering biodegradable plastic sacks and both by rewarding customers for carrying their purchases away in reuseable cloth bags.

The problem, like that of rising fuel prices, is worldwide and Baxter-Neal reported that the governments of China, Ireland, Rwanda and Bangladesh have banned use of plastic bags while Australia has a pending bill in parliament to do so. While it is unlikely that Costa Rica’s unbiquitous pulperias (neighborhood stores) will heed the call, it is a step in the right direction.

It would seem that Costa Ricans, although notorious litterbugs themselves, are taking to the new strategy. An Auto Mercado spokesman told the reporter that the various market outlets have sold 10,000 cloth bags and they have been used 19,000 times. Wal-Mart did a trial of the bags meant to last three months and, priced at less than 2,000 colones (about $3.70), they sold out within a month. Both companies are selling them at cost and they are made in Costa Rica.

A La Nacion news story once reported that a standard plastic bag lasts 130 years before decomposing completely. The Tico Times reported that even when it does, many of the chemicals of which it is made are toxic. The country lacks a true recycling plant for them, but Auto Mercado does receive them to donate the plastic to a company here that makes souvenirs and trinkets.