Zelensky enacts law on plastic bag ban

Zelensky enacts law on plastic bag ban / Photo from UNIAN

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has enacted the law to limit the circulation of plastic bags in the country.

The document was signed during the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Ecology" on Monday.

Read alsoAll water resources to be audited in Ukraine – Zelensky"Twenty minutes – this is how long on the average we use such a bag, over 100 years – this is how long it takes for one bag to get decomposed, and it takes [me] several seconds to enact this law, and I'd gladly do this," Zelensky said.

Background

• On June 1, 2021, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed a draft law in the second reading and as a whole to limit the circulation of plastic bags in the country.
• The document proposes mechanisms to stimulate the development of the production of biodegradable plastic bags, as well as introducing liability for violation of requirements related to the distribution of bags.
• According to an explanatory note to the bill, it provides for a ban on the distribution of plastic bags up to 50 microns thick in retail and public catering facilities from January 1, 2022.
• The distribution of banned plastic bags will be fined from UAH 8,500 (US$311) to UAH 17,000 (US$623), as well as UAH 34,000 (US$1,246) for repeated violation.