Free Distribution of Plastic Bags to Be Banned by Law in Armenia Starting July

The Ministry of Environment has developed a package of legislative drafts that will ban the free distribution of polyethylene bags starting from July 1 of this year and introduce a special tax from January 1, 2020.

The ministry notes that, according to preliminary studies, this measure will lead to a sharp decrease in the use of plastic bags, while their sale in Armenia will be prohibited in 2022.

The draft law on amendments to the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia proposes the introduction of a new environmental tax and the setting of a minimum selling price for polyethylene bags (100 drams) to reduce the volume of usage of these bags. It specifically suggests establishing new environmental tax payers, defining the object of taxation, tax base, rate, and calculation procedure.

Additionally, a new provision will be added to the Law on Trade and Services, prohibiting the sale of polyethylene bags and packages with a thickness of up to 100 microns (excluding those used for weighing and those made from recycled materials) by the seller in trading objects and sales areas. This provision will come into force on January 1, 2023.

The justification for the draft states that polyethylene packages released into the environment persist for a long time and do not undergo biological decomposition, resulting in persistent pollution.