the, the name is the polls bag said. thank you so much for joining in. welcome to don't hold bad. a lot of people do that. it's all about saying it loud as what of being nosy bay, like good. everyone to king. a healthy award winning called called don't call back . we don't so much plastic out to nature that some images of rivers and sees look like something out of an apocalyptic film. the accumulation of waste is so great that there even islands forming the producers of this waste are not just local residents and companies. did you know the regions like latin america, important tons of the past of waste from rich countries to mexico. the 2nd biggest

generator of plastic waste in the region after brazil. in 2023 mexican received more than a 154000 tons from the united states, followed far behind by all salvador, with more than 5000 tons. various environmental and g. o say the region has become a quote, dumping ground for richer countries, particularly the united states because of its proximity. in this episode of transforming business, we looked at the business behind plastic waste imports. and what companies in mexico and beyond are doing to reduce their plastic footprint, or like with all business, even if you're just selling garbage, the most important thing is that it's profitable in the united states. for example, it's much more expensive to process the plastic domestically that it is to send it to mexico, process it, and re imported companies linked a multi nationals like coca cola has been singled out in investigations such as the one carried out by peruvian digital media outlets. or public a or public guide,

but we'll come back to that later. one reason to import plastic waste is to sell it or use it once it's processed as a raw material and the destination country. there are various types of plastics that are generally suitable for recycling. the most common being polyethylene, terrific, the late or p t, which is usually used to make water or soda bottles. recycled plastic can be used to make textiles packaging, wrapping bottle caps, or even toys. and it's a business that remains largely in the hands of private companies. so if it's legal, then what's the problem the same as you can get. as many people who say it was nice if this had been on the rocks, we spoke with members of collective multi just plastic codes, a group of mexican environmental organizations that compiles official data. they say there's a lot of secrecy around the business and i know i most, anita a levy. he lands yeah. need need a sec. don't fully go need an sick or a visual of, you know, but as i've had kids log in and they'll go to government in the us,

the organizations basel action network. and the last beach clean up had access to data from collection centers in california. the state, the exports, most classic waste mexico, their conclusion was equally disappointing, were not capable of making a single bail which did not fail the tests of bottles control system didn't puckett, advocates for environmental and social responsibility and international trade. most of the plastic that comes into to mexico is not recycling. so they are only cherry picking the very best us. and dumping or burning the raft in 2019 the basel convention on the control of hazardous waste and their disposal of which mexico is a party, was amended to say that if plastic and difficult to recycle or contaminated, the receiving country must be notified and it's been treat approved menu, less of a way to go. okay, and so let me know, sir,

you mean by the by see us are the only mathias rojas is a data analyst at the global lines for incinerator alternatives, or g, a i a, a network of organizations based all over the world that sunny and if you're gone, i'm of the season people are race was passed here and they need us back because if that's with us. yeah, i think we come and the great i got a safety guy the my going to need a little a. i see all the stuff with those appointments they know of the conventional just not only that, there are also allegations that more plastic is being exported than companies actually report make what he said get it done those. but there's a, there's a lot because you will be a little bit, doesn't this it yep. if they bought the medical, well, i'm not going to do that. then the he going to be think i'll get it myself and you want to give me a new phone. you know, most of the ways that it's not recycled ends up in the environment either in

landfills or it's generated mainly and cement plants. on this map we see the incinerators that are registered countrywide. now details plastic goes collected the data from government sources. they tell us that the surrounding communities have suffered for years from the consequences of these and other industries. they even called this part a zone of sacrifice. that's the most, that's the end of the long castle. a bit less on that at the school. and then the guidelines that it's him that i see on this and last guessing my move yes. then a deadlock daniels, i lost our lives come on cancer. the problem was that 1st you need us, you know, does the service know investigative journalist from ohio, public co and pop lab have link to some mexican recycling imports to soft drinks company, coca cola, which is one of the transit national companies that collaborates and invest in the recycling business, mexico was a particularly valuable market. mex gets consumed more coca cola on average than

americans at about a $160.00 leaders per person per year. according to the outlets, the major importers of plastic waste with mexican recycling company, had started leading way, had brought almost 73000 tons to mexico since 2012 from the united states and china. this plastic must return to its country of origin as a process of material. the cola saves the high cleaning costs for which large amounts of water are needed, and there are other benefits. they're taking advantage of a weaker economy. of course, the labor is gonna be cheaper and mexico, but what comes with cheap labor is a country without enough economic powers to actually properly enforce their own environmental laws. according to a study published in the journal science advances in 2024, 16 multinational companies are responsible for more than half the worlds of boston

pollution. a quarter of the pollution comes from 6 companies. coca cola contributes 11 percentage followed by its competitors, pepsi and nestle as part of his campaign world without waste. coca cola pledged to recycle the equivalent of a 100 percent of its packaging by 2023 pointing to the a. a definitely of a good solid and assessing of that, the only a i've seen that are in, for massively, for this of the saudi. not more nobody, i feel like i'm pretty self explanatory. knowledge in the wireless say seems to me, it's a 100 so bundle and by sell of all of the machine will be watching what i'm kind of with the most. i mean think died. we tried unsuccessfully to contact both coca cola and pet star for an interview to learn more about their sustainability policies. these plans, as we mentioned at the beginning, mexico is the latin american country with the 2nd largest amount of overall blast

of waste. after brazil, we're talking $5700000.00 tons annually was so much plastic within its borders. why is there also an import market? the so the less because because those are too much. but a completeness customer lives with david stones have another problem. and then think windows system alicia vasquez is a professor and research or as referring to the bottles made of p t plastic. the easiest plastic to recycle i. yeah, it is complete. doesn't buy them then? oh, i was maybe also know the status for bash. less kind of the plastic was kind of symbolism discipline, but as i said, i suggest the class in this place and, and that's what i some big see. so now for a 2nd i am living today. so it's good for him, but of the status of my city. i live in the restroom, this open for langford, this somebody in a public html as that has to put in. i didn't see if the woman the to the gate i spelled for me to send that info doesn't wanna go. what are those markets?

well, mainly china trade in plastic waste has grown significantly since 1993 by 26. seen global imports had risen by 723 percent and exports by 817 percent in 2016. china important more than half of the 14100000 total and metric tons of plastic waste for recycling from 43 different countries. demand and china was only growing mostly for resin to produce everything from bottles to pipes. but in 2018, the country practically bands the business after complaints, very similar to those registered in mexico today that much of the plastic was contaminated and poorly sorted ending up instead in landfills. since then export to plastic waste have out new markets like latin america. we're focusing on the market in the united states and mexico, but the fact is, is that this is a global business that also spans other regions. these are the 5 countries that

export the most plastic waste and worldwide in tons per year. germany leaves the way with more than 680000 tons followed by japan and the united kingdom with just over 600000 tons. the netherlands and the us are in 4th and 5th place respectively . considering the enormous amounts of plastic consume globally, our companies shifting towards the sustainable production again, canada. but i thought i'd let you know maybe guy and missy burne co either style in this process that i've, she's young. i'm the assistant associate. i'm which us out on the investment by setting up ignoring or she had called brent said last night you left you on this a but i said to stop by the through the bus you that my daughter plus 170 that in but aside. yeah. rodrigo vargas is technical, director of green tank of mexican consulting, firm, specializing and circular economies. our climate change, the green tank, use the digital tool called the green developed together, which lane company be okay. the tool measures the plastic footprint of products

with this data. a plan of possible solution has been developed. not only does it help reduce the plastic footprint of company, but also there are big footprints that i'm in the technique. i mean, there was a, she had a bad bus stop leasing the best fit for you guys. gonna close that and obviously the school there be as i see them and pull them into leave. looking back those days, they like to start him the courses. but as part of the interesting, i'm in the sean lobby said it was john. it new. so you have already begun comes from a pilot project called career circular, and which more than 20 companies from mexico, guatemala, honduras, and the dominican republic to participate in the main sectors involved. were those relating to food and beverage, production, agriculture, livestock and awful culture essential to society by major emitters of c o. 2 and producers of cost of waste green tank has my clients, including multinational bakery group of bimbo and beauty and personal care products

manufacturer. not touring, we ask them what mistakes companies tend to make when trying to reduce their foster footprint. and that's some other this is janice. and we see that the guy that's going file funding for them. assume that in the guy in the, in front of my strong lot. uh and there's a spot about what my one up by the time you started way up left to go set or something like i can admit that. and what, why does it look like he's stay mentally black and white only get out of the product. ok by that's got a saw a little bit of muscle. chavez from the plastic isn't useful and practical material . the problem is waste management, especially when it comes to single use of products. most plastic objects never completely disappear. incineration of plastic is toxic and to recycle. it is expensive and limited. less than 10 percent of the world's plastic actually gets recycled. for decades, the richest nations have sold their plastic waste so that it can be converted into

a raw material. but many of the countries where this waste arrives, do not have the infrastructure or regulatory mechanisms in place to ensure that this industry does not have an impact on the environment and look to meet the needs . what do you think about this industry and what is the best way to reduce plastic pollution? let us know in the comments the

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