Abridgement of bags circulation. Impact on daily life

In Ukraine the limitation to use disposable bags is now in effect. The law applies to shops, chemist’s shops, catering institutions and services. The undistributed remains must be withdrawn and utilized, yet the law does not say who is responsible for doing that and what exactly utilization means.

For distribution and inclination to use these bags Ukrainians will pay 1700 to 3400 UAH, for further violation — 3400 to 8500 UAH.

As to UN data, 5 trillion polymer bags are used throughout the world yearly. At the same time 8 million tons of plastic gets into oceans every year. The annual number of plastic bags produced is 13 billions, that is, 300 per adult. Ecologists claim that it takes over two hundred years for polyethylene to degrade in natural conditions, and almost 450 years for plastic. More to that, in average a typical plastic bag is used only for twenty minutes.

The problem has already grown tremendously big and badly needs to be solved, though plastic bags are a necessity that sometimes is hard to be done without in daily life. We throw away trash, pile stuff, carry goods from supermarkets – and every time we use a bag. Besides, plastic bag is far cheaper than its “green” alternative, and this is the reason why every household has evergrowing “bag full of bags”. 

As for me, we won’t yield to changes very soon, but on the other hand, if we read the law carefully we shall discover that it doesn’t claim all the bags banned at once! The entrepreneurs have nine months for adaptation, and some categories of bags are to disappear only since 2023. It is a phased transition. Some people definitely remain unsatisfied, which is common and normal thing. Others will not know how to start the transition and what alternatives there are. There exist, though, environmentally aware people, mostly young, who support this beginning. The majority dislikes refusal from polyethylene, as eco-bags seem much more expensive. They indeed are, but bags from supermarket are not free of charge too. Their price is included in prices for other goods, so in fact you pay for it even when you don’t actually take it. 

Plastic bags were not always common! String bags, now called shoppers, were widely spread. It means that durable bags is not a fresh idea.

Eco-friendliness in talk and deed is now a new trend for manufacturers and consumers. One can often see people on the streets carrying shoppers. Food delivery exploits paper bags. Even bloggers and celebrities tend to depict their living as environmentally aware. 

So, “the good trend” is launched and lasts, though much depends on habits and way of life.

UN report claims that 23 countries have already banned use of plastic bags completely: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Ruanda, Mozambique, Cameroon, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Morocco, France, Panama, Guyana, Haiti, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea.

Everything’s possible, as we can see, one needs only to start. We hardly rejects things we’re accustomed to, new order is frightening, but it does not mean changes are unnecessary. One may start from thinking what to buy in a supermarket before going there and carrying bags or other containers so they are always at hand, like gadgets and face mask. This solves all the inconveniences.

Clean planet is everyone’s contribution!

By: Anzhela Pysarenko