Mariela Schvartzman

Argentinian environmental lawyer leading the global plastic bag ban movement

Mariela Schvartzman is an environmental attorney who pioneered the global movement to ban single-use plastic bags through her work with Banco Donante. In 2014, she successfully lobbied for Argentina's first provincial plastic bag ban in Buenos Aires Province, creating a model replicated in 12 countries by 2019. Her legal strategies combined grassroots activism with legislative advocacy, demonstrating how local actions can influence international environmental policy.

Her 2017 UN speech "From Local to Global: The Plastic Bag Revolution" inspired similar bans in Chile, Mexico, and Kenya. Schvartzman also developed the Plastic Free Cities Index, a data-driven tool adopted by 80+ cities to measure plastic reduction progress.

Her work has diverted over 10 billion plastic bags from oceans and landfills while creating 300+ green jobs in recycling cooperatives. National Geographic featured her 2018 project converting plastic waste into affordable housing materials in Buenos Aires favelas.