Panama prohibits use of plastic bags

The use of plastic (polyethylene) bags has been prohibited by means of newly enacted Law 1 of 19 January 2018 (Official Gazette No. 28448-B of 19 Jan 2018).

The prohibition will trigger in 18 months for supermarkets, drugstores and retail stores and in 24 months for whole-sellers and warehouses.

The Competition Authority is the governmental entity in charge of supervising the application of this measure.

Merchants may decide whether to charge or not their customers for the provision of reusable bags.

Ivette E. Martínez S. - imartinez@ims.legal