Break Free From Plastic

In a global context marked by the intensifying plastic pollution crisis, civil society organizations have taken on a key role in raising awareness of its environmental, social, and health impacts. In Mexico, one of the most persistent voices in this struggle is that of Fronteras Comunes, an organization with more than three decades of experience defending socio-environmental justice and human rights.

For Marisa Jacott, sociologist and director of the organization, the mission is clear and deeply political: “Fronteras Comunes is an organization dedicated to justice and the defense of the land, fighting to protect human and environmental health against chemical, industrial, and plastic pollution. We work through advocacy, the defense of economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights, research, and exposing public policies that allow and promote this type of pollution.”

Since its founding in 1994, Fronteras Comunes has addressed the issue of plastic as part of a broader system of structural pollution, coordinating strategies involving litigation, research, and community work. “We have made progress on several of the many fronts in the fight against plastic through networks, interdisciplinary work, and collaboration with social movements, scientists, and environmental journalism,” explains Jacott.

One of the central pillars of Fronteras Comunes’ work has been to denounce so-called “waste colonialism”: the systematic transfer of waste from industrialized countries to nations in the Global South.

Following China’s closure of its borders to waste imports in 2018, countries like Mexico began receiving increasing volumes of plastic waste, mainly from the United States. For Jacott, this phenomenon cannot be understood solely as a commercial problem: “Plastic pollution and toxic colonialism are not just economic issues; they are also health issues. It reaches our bodies and territories; it is a matter of the present and the here and now, not the future.”

Jacott notes that over the past two decades, Mexico has imported at least 1.26 million tons of plastic waste, mostly from the United States, highlighting the magnitude of the problem. This dynamic, he notes, is sustained by misleading narratives: “False solutions are promoted under the guise of the circular economy, with ‘valorization’ processes and toxic recycling that mask environmental dumping practices*.”

To raise awareness of this issue, Fronteras Comunes, together with other organizations, is promoting the México Tóxico platform, a geovisualizer that documents the flow of waste and its impacts on local areas. “We aim to show how plastic pollution is present throughout its entire life cycle: from oil extraction to disposal and massive importation as trash,” he explains.

Coordination among organizations has also led to significant legal advances. One of the most significant is an Amparo won in 2024 that compels the Mexican Congress to legislate on single-use plastics.

The case was filed by six organizations in 2023, in response to attempts to block local regulations such as those in the state of Oaxaca. The reaction from industry and certain sectors of the state government was strong. “We faced fierce opposition from industry and open support from government institutions to prevent the ban,” notes Jacott.

However, although the ruling was favorable, its implementation remains pending: “We won the ruling in August 2024, but to date the decision has not been enforced, so we continue working.”

The case has also gained international relevance. During a recent visit to Mexico, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on toxic substances and human rights, Marcos Orellana, expressed concern over attempts to circumvent this Amparo ruling through the General Law on the Circular Economy. From his perspective, such frameworks can only be considered adequate if they guarantee chemical safety and do not replace reduction obligations with insufficient technological solutions.

His statements echoed warnings from civil society organizations, which have pointed out that the law does not establish clear measures to limit the production of single-use plastics and opens the door to processes such as pyrolysis, which are questioned for their impacts on health and the environment.

Over the past decade, the Break Free From Plastic movement has demonstrated that global coordination can amplify local struggles. For Fronteras Comunes, this aspect has been central from the very beginning in alliances such as GAIA, which later gave rise to BFFP itself. “The importance of networking lies in the ability to work and share—from the local to the international level—the issues that unite us,” says Jacott. “Networking nourishes us, allows us to build and rebuild connections to move forward, and must be grounded in trust, transparency, and common goals.”

This coordination has made it possible not only to strengthen capacities but also to drive concrete initiatives. In 2022, organizations in Mexico convened the first national BFFP meeting, which was attended by representatives from 15 civil society organizations and two scientific institutions and culminated in the Xitla Declaration, a statement demanding a halt to imports of contaminated plastics into Mexico, transparency regarding the final destination of such materials, and respect for the rights of waste pickers. The declaration also calls for the strengthening of laws banning single-use plastics and for the elimination from legislation of all forms of incineration, co-processing, energy recovery, or thermal treatment as alternatives for plastic management in Mexico.

For Jacott, the value of belonging to a global movement is strategic: “BFFP gives us strength at the local, national, regional, and global levels. It has taught us the power of tools like brand audits, the value of citizen science, and the importance of exposing corporate responsibility and debunking false solutions.”

The work of these networks also extends to the negotiation of a Global Plastics Treaty, a key process for establishing binding rules at the international level.

Jacott emphasizes that the treaty must go beyond general commitments: “It must adopt a precautionary approach, reduce plastic production, regulate toxic substances, and prevent the cross-border trade of waste.”

Among the critical points, she highlights the need to recognize the impacts of plastic throughout its entire life cycle, set limits on single-use plastics, and prevent these materials from continuing to be considered as fuels or energy inputs.

“The challenge is ensuring these agreements are actually implemented in countries like Mexico, where international commitments often do not translate into public policies,” she concludes.

In recent years, public perception of plastic has changed. “There is indeed greater collective awareness and more stakeholders involved, from different perspectives,” notes Jacott.

However, he warns that this progress coexists with institutional narratives that promote insufficient solutions: “In Mexico, this awareness is being undermined by a state policy that promotes industrial and energy recycling of plastic.” Even so, he highlights the role of tools such as brand audits—even on a domestic scale—to demonstrate the responsibility of large corporations.

For Jacott, the challenge remains structural: addressing not only consumption but also production, associated chemicals, and waste management as part of the same system.

Taking stock personally, his reflection is forceful: “I never imagined the scale of the current plastic crisis, its pervasive and toxic nature, its structural damage. We need to keep building alternative paths in the face of a future that is no longer fiction.”

Ten years after BFFP, the message from organizations like Fronteras Comunes is clear: in the face of a global crisis, the answer still lies in coordination, evidence, and collective action. And in the conviction that another model—one where life comes before plastic—is not only necessary but urgent.

*Environmental dumping refers to the transfer of waste or pollutants from one country to another, typically from developed nations to developing countries, taking advantage of weaker environmental regulations and lower disposal costs.