Government to Tighten Bag Sale Ban as Previous Results Were Unsatisfactory

For over a year, the regulation banning the sale of bags less than 50 microns thick has not yielded the desired results. This was disclosed by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia in response to a written inquiry from Sputnik Armenia.

The ineffectiveness is attributed to low motivation for behavioral change among the public, insufficient levels of environmental education and awareness, as well as inadequate law enforcement tools and control capacities.

The ministry's response also noted that the inefficacy of the current law was discussed during a meeting held on December 5 by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the ministry.

“The Ministry of Environment is currently drafting a new bill to impose a ban on the sale of certain groups of plastic items, including polyethylene bags thicker than 50 microns and single-use tableware made of plastic or polystyrene, as well as single-use containers designed for packaging food,” the agency stated.

In other words, the next step from the ministry intends to prohibit the sale of thicker polyethylene bags over 50 microns, in addition to single-use plastic tableware and containers used for food packaging. These are the items in which packaged meat, cheese, and other types of food sold without factory packaging are wrapped.

We also inquired how the current ban has affected the environment over the past year, including the reduction in pollution from polyethylene bags, and the extent to which the production and import volumes of polyethylene bags have decreased in Armenia. We did not receive direct answers to any of these questions. The ministry only stated that the actual volumes of reduced bag usage are beyond its jurisdiction.

Nature is now being “wrapped” in thicker plastic

Environmental organizations also do not have clear data on how much pollution from polyethylene bags has been reduced in Armenia over the past year. However, Vahe Salahyan, head of programs at the NGO “Eco Trash,” which organizes cleanup actions in various natural areas, noted in an interview with Sputnik Armenia that thicker bags exceeding 50 microns have become increasingly common.

“The point is that for the individual throwing garbage, no significant change has occurred. If they used to throw bags up to 50 microns thick into the street, now they are throwing in thicker ones. We are noting this from the center of our capital city to remote rural communities,” he said.

The environmentalist expressed that the governmental legal initiative aimed at preventing environmental pollution was only positively assessed by a small segment of the public with a high ecological awareness one year ago and still today. Meanwhile, the majority of society perceives this as an increased expense for the existing bags. Those who previously refrained from using plastic bags continue to do so post-law adoption, while others who were purchasing bags continue to buy them regardless of thickness and price, and are still using them for discarding waste. As a result, plastic reemerges in nature, albeit in a much thicker and more harmful format.

“There are various estimates on their biodegradability. There are assessments ranging from 100 years to 400 years, depending on their thickness. The thicker the plastic, the longer it takes for it to biodegrade after entering nature,” Salahyan noted.

He also reminded that public-professional discussions and certain informational campaigns regarding the harmfulness of polyethylene bags took place 1-1.5 years ago before the law was adopted. However, since then, engagement with the public in this regard has ceased. In his view, for citizens to understand state policies, they must first see a clear strategy directed towards nature conservation, a logical sequence of steps, and only then can they adequately grasp the proposed changes in their daily lives.

“If we already placed the first brick loosely, it is natural that after placing the second, third, and fourth bricks, we will end up with a collapse,” he said regarding the next steps to tighten the law, as announced by the Ministry of Environment. The environmentalist recommends that the government find solutions not on a legislative level but at the level of public consciousness. “For nature to benefit, there should be human beings who think about themselves, are aware, have ecological consciousness, and regardless of whether plastic bags cost 100 drams or 1000, they simply do not purchase them and, moreover, do not discard them into nature,” he firmly believes.

It is noted that as of January 1, 2022, the sale of polyethylene bags and bags less than 50 microns thick was prohibited in trading points across the republic. The oversight and administrative liability authority was legally delegated to local communities. Moreover, the existing law does not set a maximum limit on bag thickness; they simply need to be thicker than 50 microns. A fine of 20,000 to 30,000 drams is provided for selling bags thinner than 50 microns.

According to data provided by the Yerevan City Hall, during 2022, employees of the municipality and administrative districts conducted 180 inspections at sales points in the capital to check the thickness of bags. A total of 139 records were drawn up for the sale or free distribution of polyethylene bags thicker than 50 microns. Additionally, it is noted that the bags sold at supermarket chains in Yerevan for 10-15 drams as of January 1, 2022, are now priced at 50 drams.