Ecology, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Retail, Society
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Friday, 26.04.2024, 07:35
Estonia to ban free plastic bags in stores
Iconic symbol of our
throw-away society, single use plastic bags have numerous adverse effects on
the environment. A major source of pollution of the marine environment with
potential effects on human health, single-use plastic bags are often only used
for a few minutes, the ministry said.
Therefore,
the EU directive sets forth measures to reduce the use of lightweight plastic
carrier bags. As one option, handouts of free lightweight plastic bags, which
at present make up 97% of the plastic bags handed out in stores, must be ended
by 2019 at the latest.
The
purpose of the ban is to avoid a situation where the consumer can take
lightweight plastic carrier bags for free to substitute for a carrier bag.
In
addition the consumption of plastic bags per person must be cut to 90 bags per
year by the end of 2019. Surveys carried out by the ministry and the Estonian
association of retailers indicate that Estonian residents consume 40 plastic
bags and about 165 extra lightweight plastic bags on the average per year.
The new
legislation would establish a minimum price for plastic bags at a level
significantly higher than now. This measure is aimed at encouraging people to
use a multiple use carrier bag made from fabric instead, authors of the
legislation say.
With the
measure, the selling price of plastic carrier bags would be raised to the range
from 30 cents to 1 euro, compared with 15 cents on the average now. Considering
that the average price of bags made from fabric at retail outlets now is 0.75
euros, this is expected to make consumers opt for the latter as a more durable
and less expensive alternative.