ABSTRACT
There are three main regions in American countries, which are North America, South America, and Central America. For the regions of North America, the implementation of plastic usage policies in eight countries or states in the regions of North American countries have been reviewed. These eight countries or states include Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Canada, California (United States), Hawaii (United States), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica. The usage of plastic shopping bags and Styrofoam products are prohibited in Antigua and Barbuda and Bahamas through the implementation of various new policies to reduce the plastic pollution issue. The Plastic Bag Reduction Act and Montreal By-Law 16–051 are the plastic ban policies implemented in Canada. The state government of California, Chicago, and the Hawaiian government have also implemented plastic ban policies. Besides, the government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has implemented the Environmental Health (Expanded Polystyrene) Regulations (2017) and the Environmental Health Control of Disposable Plastics Regulations (2019). For South America, the countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Peru have also implemented plastic ban policies. These countries encourage the replacement of single-use plastic bags with reusable and biodegradable plastic bags.
