Plastic bags, back to basics

Plastic bags are a symbol of our time: they are everywhere, making it easy to package, transport, contain and dispose of any kind of product. They also threaten our planet, polluting sky, land and sea, and all living organisms. And wherever there is waste and pollution, we Greeks are among the champions.

Each Greek uses an average of 363 plastic bags a year, according to a 2016 report by the Research Institute for Retail Consumer Goods (IELKA). This puts us in first place in Europe, where the per capita average is 175 bags per year, and far from the European Commission target of 90 plastic bags per person by the end of 2019. The charge placed on bags at the beginning of this year is aimed at bringing Greece in line with its European partners and the EU target. The premise is that if plastic bags are seen as objects of some value we will try to use fewer of them and also use...