Plastic bottles were banned from the municipality of Santa Cruz (which covers the entire island of the same name and includes the main Galapagos town of Puerto Ayora) last week.  The municipality passed a regulation banning all plastic bottles containing carbonated drinks, effective February 26th.

It's good to remember that all manufactured goods in Galapagos are brought in from the continent, from toilet paper to roofing tiles, and all waste generated in Galapagos stays in Galapagos.   A visit to the local landfill is an eye opener.  

Though this will affect a small part of the whole, it's a good first step - but it remains a first step, in reducing the amount of waste being stockpiled in these fragile islands, and in reducing the amount of plastic ending up in oceans.   

Now, let's hope the regulation will be applied.  There have been instances of wishful regulating before.   

 

Text of the regulation (in Spanish)