Phase-out of lightweight plastic bags

A shopper takes a break on a street in the central city of Trikala on Wednesday as Greece joined other European Union countries in charging consumers for the use of plastic bags. The initiative is aimed at reducing the proliferation of plastic bags and their adverse impact on the environment by convincing consumers to use durable bags when shopping.

Supermarkets and retail stores will stop giving out free plastic bags in the new year as part of efforts to curb environmental pollution caused by the extensive use by of non-biodegradable carrier bags.

"No more plastic bags," newspaper titles touted on August 10, after the publication of a joint ministerial decree announcing that consumers would have to pay 3 cents for each plastic shopping bag used as of January 1, 2018, and 7 cents as of January 1, 2019.

Only one in ten Greek shoppers say they will continue to use plastic bags in supermarkets after the introduction of a 3 cent levy as of January 2018, according to a new poll.

According to the survey, conducted by the Research Institute of Retail Consumer Goods (IELKA), two in three consumers are in favor of banning the all-too-familiar polythene bags.

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.

Plastic bags will cost up to 8 cents each in supermarkets as of July 2018, as a bill from the Environment Ministry is to be passed that will finally incorporate into Greek law a European Union directive dating from 2015 that should have been introduced last November.

In a bid to reduce waste the country produces, a 0.05- to 0.1-euro charge for disposable plastic bags will be introduced at supermarkets next month, the Environment Ministry has announced.

Greece could soon follow the example of other countries in the European Union as the government prepares plans to start charging for disposable plastic carry bags, Ethnos newspaper reports.

A law requiring supermarkets to charge consumers between 5-10 cents per bag is expected to be tabled next year, the report said.

Bulgaria's Environment Ministry has boasted about a substantial reduction in the use of single-use thin plastic bags over the past two years.

The conclusion of the Energy Ministry is based on receipts from fees on plastic bags thinner than 25 microns and smaller than 390/490 mm, according to reports of Sega daily.