Single-Use Plastics to Be Banned: Bill Discussed in Parliament

The Parliament is discussing a bill to amend the Law on Trade and Services in Armenia, which proposes to ban the sale and distribution of polyethylene bags and sacks with a thickness of less than 50 microns at trade locations and commercial entities starting from February 1, 2022. The bill was introduced by Minister of Environment Erik Grigoryan.

MP Gevorg Papoyan requested clarification on what is meant by bags of less than 50 microns and whether this refers to the bags that are familiar to us. In response, the minister explained that it concerns the bags sold in supermarkets and trade networks, all of which are below 50 microns, meaning their usability is more frequent, and this draft law aims to ban single-use plastics.

“More than 120 countries are currently implementing some form of plastic ban for various reasons. Besides physical pollution, the degradation of plastics leads to microplastics entering the food chain, affecting animals, birds, and even fish, which can have certain carcinogenic properties. The whole world is moving towards banning single-use plastics,” explained Minister Grigoryan.