Plastic bag charge to be introduced from January

From January 1 next year Greeks will have to pay 3 cents for lightweight plastic bags such as those currently given away at supermarkets and other stores. The charge will rise to 0.07 euros from January 1, 2019.

The aim of the measure is to drastically reduce the number of plastic bags in Greece. At the moment each Greek uses an average of some 400 plastic bags per year but authorities want to reduce this number to 90 by 2020.

The special charge that will apply from next year will be collected by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) and the funds will then be transferred to the Hellenic Recycling Agency (EOAN). If there are problems meeting the targets that have been set, the sale of some types of bags may be banned completely.

The measure, agreed by the Finance Ministry and AADE, relates to polythene bags whose thickness is no more than 50...

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