Yerevan municipality begins penalizing retailers for ignoring ban on sale of plastic bags

YEREVAN, January 21. /ARKA/. The Yerevan Municipality said its employees began January 20 penalizing retail outlets for ignoring the ban on sale of plastic bags to customers.

Legislative amendments to completely ban the use of polyethylene bags and sacks in Armenia came into force on January 1. The amendments, proposed by the Ministry of Environment, were approved by the government on January 23, 2021.

The ban applies to polyethylene bags with a thickness of 50 microns (with the exception of packaging bags and those made of recycled materials).

The Municipality said the checks will be done on a daily basis. The amount of a fine is 20,000-30,000 drams.

"After the entry into force of the amendments our employees visited retail outlets to warn their owners that they should comply with the law. Today we have already started inspections using micrometers. If the thickness of the bag is less than 50 microns, the business is fined in the amount of 20,000-30,000 drams," said Hovik Safaryan, Head of the Department of Trade and Services at Yerevan Municipality.

According to him, more than 60 cases of the failure to comply with the ban were revealed on January 20.

"Bags with a thickness of 50 microns or more, which can be used repeatedly are still allowed, but, of course, over time, businesses will have to resort to alternative solutions," Safaryan said.

The main goal of the legislative changes is to solve environmental problems. It take polyethylene bags for over 400 years to decompose in nature.-0-