Costa Rica discards 550 tons of plastic every day and as much as 80 percent enters our coastal areas, impacting marine ecosystems and local livelihoods.  Building on existing laws, this project will assist Costa Rica in putting in place a container deposit scheme for plastics, glass and metal; introduce tax incentives to reduce loss of fishing nets, and strengthen the regulation of cigarette disposal. 

• Container Deposit Laws
  It sees the value of a bill creating a container deposit fund achieved through the implementation of a deposit system where money is fully refundable and returned to the consumer for every returned plastic, glass, and metal bottles.
• Fishnet recovery incentives
  This is a tax incentive given to those who return the fishing net they no longer wish to use. This incentive is granted once the return is registered and paid on the purchase of the new fishing net.
• Cigarette butt regulation
  It involves the modification of Costa Rica’s General Law on Tobacco Control and its Harmful Effects on Health N. 9028 and its regulations by limiting the public spaces where smoking is allowed including laws on the proper disposal of cigarette butts for it not to end up in its seas and rivers.
• Microplastics production and import bans
  It involves a bill banning products containing microplastics, both at the creation stage at the local level, including its export and import.