From Today, Entrepreneurs are Fined for Using Prohibited Plastic Bags

As of January 1, the use of plastic bags and packages thicker than 50 microns is banned in trade establishments, except for bags intended for weighing packaging and those made from secondary raw materials. This was reported by the municipality.

Businesses have been given about 2 years to abandon plastic bags and find new, environmentally safe solutions. Employees of the Yerevan Municipality and administrative districts are conducting inspections starting today and imposing fines on violators. The monitoring will be daily.

The head of the Trade and Services Department of the Yerevan Municipality, Hovik Safaryan, noted, "After the amendments to the Law on Trade and Services came into effect, our employees have regularly visited trade points for monitoring purposes, conducting explanatory work with entrepreneurs to comply with the law's requirements and transition to permissible bags. Starting today, we have begun inspections, with measurements being taken with a micrometer. If the thickness of a bag is less than 50 microns, entrepreneurs are held accountable under the Administrative Violations Code. The fine ranges from 20,000 to 30,000 drams. More than 60 protocols have been established throughout the day. Bags with a thickness of 50 microns or more, which can be used multiple times, are currently allowed; however, entrepreneurs must eventually transition to alternative solutions," he emphasized.

The main goal of the legislative changes is to address environmental issues. Plastic packaging emitted into the environment degrades over more than 400 years. Experts aim to significantly reduce plastic usage in this manner.