Shopping bags

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.

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.

Take a look under under the kitchen sink in a typical Greek home. In all likelihood you will find a pile of plastic bags, collected from each visit to the supermarket or local kiosk. Unfortunately, these bags more often than not end up being used to collect trash, and are rarely used to carry groceries again.

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.

The use of plastic bags in markets and stores will be restricted across Turkey starting in 2018, the Turkish Retailers' Federation (TPF) announced on March 28, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

TPF head Mustafa Altunbilek said the decision was made in an effort to reduce waste, adding that they were planning to motivate customers to use cloth or other non-plastic bags.

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.