The use of single-use plastic bags is banned in more than 90 countries around the world. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, plastic bags are allowed and are charged up to 10 Fenings in markets if they do not have an advertising logo. We use more than a billion plastic bags every year, which unfortunately end up in our living environment. What would be the solution and should we follow the latest example of the ban introduced by Montenegro?
In the market, groceries in plastic bags. This is the most common picture when shopping in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cotton bags, less common.-
More than one billion plastic bags are used annually in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its average use is only 10 minutes. It is recommended that we still use cloth bags.
The laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not oblige us to do so. The use of plastic bags and single-use plastics is not prohibited. The ban is not being considered for now. The regulation stipulates the payment of fees for non-biodegradable waste.
“The Law on Amendments to the Law on Waste Management prescribes that for manufactured or imported products, which become waste after use, a fee is paid for burdening the environment with special categories of waste, with the aim of covering the costs of establishing a management system for special categories of waste. Fee for special categories waste is also paid for plastic bags to carry, with the exception of biodegradable bags”, according to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology of the Republic of Srpska.
A ban, experts estimate, would reduce the amount of waste generated from plastic bags by 2/3. Along with the ban, it is necessary to offer an alternative. And work on raising awareness.
“About plastic in general, not only with plastic bags, the problem is that they are used for a very short time. And that is a problem. Plastic is a very long-lasting material. Plastic bags decompose for several hundred years and are used for an average of 10 minutes,” says Milica Končar, master of circular economy.
“In the first phase, I would motivate the population not to use. Then after some time, I started with such measures. The overnight ban measure did not bring any success,” Azrudin Husika, professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UNSA.
In the world, the use of plastic bags and single-use plastics has been banned by more than 90 countries. Recently and Montenegro. Whoever breaks the rule can face a fine of 1,000 to 40,000 euros, BHRT writes.
