Bags

Turkish citizens have come up with novel ways to protest the newly-adopted extra charges for plastic bags, entering supermarkets with donkeys and wheelbarrows. 

The number of single-use plastic bags used by shoppers has plummeted by 70 percent in one day since the introduction of a nationwide charge in Turkey on Jan. 1, Ahmet Varır, the head of a department spearheading the regulation at the Environment and Urbanization Ministry, has said.

The use of plastic carrier bags in Greece has dropped by up to 85 percent since the introduction of the eco-tax on lightweight bags a year ago, data by the Hellenic Recycling Agency (EOAN) show.

Meanwhile revenues from the levy, which was introduced to help reduce litter and protect wildlife, are estimated at 7.7 million euros, according to the same data.

Turkish people are set to see a variety of changes in daily life beginning on Jan. 1, with the most striking change to be seen in grocery stores, which will charge customers 0.25 Turkish Liras ($4 cents) for a single-use plastic bag under new regulations.

Minoan Lines said on Wednesday it is the first ferry company in Greece to stop using plastic straws on its vessels, replacing them with straws made from biodegradable environmentally friendly material.

The minister added that it "turned out there was no need to immediately ban plastic bags, since charging them in big retail chains is producing good results."

Asked whether plastic bags would in fact be banned, Trivan said this was the goal that is being "moved toward," and noted that 30 countries have done it so far.

It sounds too good to be true — a plastic bag made from corn starch that breaks down with food waste and leaves no remnant plastic to make its way into the oceans.

These "compostable" light-weight bags for fruit and vegetables are being trialled in two South Australian supermarkets.

Three plastic bag manufacturers have shut down, output in the industry has dropped 80 percent and workers are being laid off as the plastics sector reels from the 0.04-euro environmental levy slapped on each single-use plastic bag since January 1.

Revenues from the sale of plastic bags at Greek supermarkets have reached about 4 million euros since the initiative was launched on January 1, according to the Research Institute of Retail Consumer Goods (IELKA).

Politika daily writes on Thursday that the ministry said Serbia, although not a member of the EU, would apply all measures from the recently adopted "plastics directive."

According to this EU directive, the maximum annual consumption of bags per person is limited to 90, until the end of 2019.