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Armenia’s ministry of nature protection has come up with a draft legislation banning the free provision of plastic bags to be enacted from January 1, 2020. The ministry cites initial studies, suggesting the proposed measure will sharply decrease the use of the plastic bags in the republic, before banning the use of polythene from 2022.

The draft legislation proposes to tax minimal amount for the sale of every plastic bag produced (100 AMD). According to the statistics, Armenia has imported some 18.059,6 tones of plastic bags in 2017-2018. Polythene amounts for 30% of the total waste volumes in the republic mostly accumulated in landfills.

The justification for the legislative initiative cites the public health and environmental impacts of using polythene bags in the country. it says the average bag picked up at the stores has a lifespan of about 12-15 minutes. Polythene is a non-biodegradable substance and it does not disintegrate or degrade itself in nature, instead degenerating into toxic microplastics. It notes also that countryside filled with polythene bags can be easily witnessed in many parts of Armenia, all year round.

According to the ministry, some 120 countries around the world have taken legal measures to regulate the polythene waste management through economic measures aimed at decreasing its usage, including through introducing taxation and fees.