The Minister of Ecology announced what will be banned after plastic bags.
The process of forming a new consumption culture is long, and today Ukraine is only just beginning it.
In Ukraine, there are plans to limit the use of single-use plastic in general, and not just bags, as its use is not so essential for human life. This was stated in an interview with "Glavkom" by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Roman Abramovsky.
"In the European Union, legislation on limiting the circulation of single-use plastic is also coming into force. We agreed that in September we would provide proposals for legislative changes to limit its use," the minister said.
The official explained to "Glavkom" what these restrictions would entail.
"Straws, cotton swabs, forks, plates, spoons, containers... All of this should be biodegradable, meaning environmentally friendly, although the best product will still be reusable items that you use more than once. As for the bags themselves, the issue is resolved very simply: there are reusable bags, there are biodegradable bags, bags can be used repeatedly, etc.," Abramovsky said.
The minister agrees that the process of forming a new consumption culture is long, and today Ukraine is only just beginning it. Consumers have many questions, such as how to buy salads in a culinary department, because such products cannot be put into a biodegradable bag.
"Therefore, there must be an alternative - the same paper one. When visiting the United States, I saw paper packaging being used in supermarkets, which, of course, cannot last long, but decomposes instantly, and can be easily recycled several times. But we currently don't have a 'plan B': the accumulation of waste horrifies me, and with the increase in consumption, it only grows," he said.
In addition, there is another aspect: for marketing purposes, for many manufacturers, the cost and size of the packaging they use significantly exceed the cost and size of the product packaged in it. "And this is about the culture of production, about eco-design," the minister concluded.