Mexico City Unveils Roadmap to Reduce Plastic Waste by 2040

Mexico City’s Ministry of Environment (SEDEMA), in partnership with WWF Mexico and the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), presented a long-term strategy to reduce plastic pollution through the Platform for Plastic Action in Mexico City (PAP-CDMX). The announcement was made during the event PAP-CDMX: Two Years of Progress Toward Circularity in the Plastics Sector.

Since 2023, SEDEMA has been part of the GPAP, a global initiative of the World Economic Forum that promotes cross-sector collaboration to reduce plastic waste. PAP-CDMX seeks to transition from a linear to a circular plastics economy by involving public authorities, academia, civil society, and the private sector.

During the event, stakeholders presented a roadmap to increase the city’s plastic circularity rate from 24% in 2022 to 84% by 2040. The strategy focuses on four key pillars: reducing plastic waste generation, redesigning products for recyclability, improving waste collection and separation systems, and enhancing recycling infrastructure with new technologies.

Julia Álvarez, Director, SEDEMA, emphasized the city’s commitment to ending linear consumption models and announced an upcoming citywide campaign to promote waste separation. The campaign may reintroduce a day-based collection scheme to increase household participation in plastic recovery.

Álvarez also revealed two strategic initiatives: the creation of a new Waste Management Agency and the development of a Circular Economy Park at the former Bordo Poniente landfill. Inspired by international models like Madrid’s Valdemingómez complex, the park is expected to serve as a hub for waste valorization in Mexico City.

In a call to action, the minister invited stakeholders to join the city’s Free of Single-Use Plastics strategy, starting with Chapultepec Forest, which is set to become the first urban forest in the world to eliminate both single-use plastics and junk accumulation.

María José Villanueva, Director of Conservation, WWF Mexico, highlighted the collective momentum built over two years of collaboration within PAP-CDMX, while Clemence Schmid, Managing Director, GPAP, framed private-sector participation as key to competitiveness and sustainable economic growth.

Roberto Castillo, Head, SEDEMA’s General Directorate for Environmental Policy and Culture, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to maintaining PAP-CDMX as a permanent mechanism for structural change in plastic management.

The event also included a panel discussion featuring representatives from government, academia, civil society, and private companies, who shared perspectives on strategic actions for strengthening a circular economy for plastics in the capital.