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News > Argentina

Argentina Fines Agrochemical Firms For Environment Law Evasion

  • Agrochemical containers piled up on a road in Argentina, April 2021.

    Agrochemical containers piled up on a road in Argentina, April 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @HuracanRodrigui

Published 30 April 2021
Opinion

Twelve million plastic containers of toxic agrochemicals were never collected by the companies and were left in the environment.

Argentina on Thursday fined Bayer, Syngenta, Dow, and Dupont US$783 million for not collecting used containers from the country's farmlands.

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"This is the largest environmental sanction in Argentina's history," Sustainable Development Agency (OPDS) Director Juan Brardinelli explained, mentioning that 70 companies traded over 13 million plastic containers in Buenos Aires in 2020

"Only one million of those containers were recovered. We are talking about millions of containers that have been left lying around generating pollution."

Authorities found hundreds of containers dumped on the side of a rural school. The OPDS is still investigating and scouring the entire capital to detect other points where bins were left behind. 

"The fines were notified last week and their value is equivalent to 1,000 basic salaries," Brardelli remarked and insisted that containers' remains are harmful to human health.

The Argentinean laws state that agrochemical manufacturers and importers are responsible for collecting and treating the containers they sell.

Nevertheless, the CampLimpio Association, responsible for the collection and treatment of the containers, assured that the sanctions imposed are unfounded and announced it will appeal the government's measure.

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