PLASTIC BAGS LEVY FROM NEXT YEAR

Cyprus Mail - article by Evie Andreou 13 July 2017

As of next year, consumers in Cyprus will be charged for plastic bags at supermarkets as a bill aiming at harmonising national legislation with the EU is expected to be voted by parliament in the fall, officials said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the environment department presented the bill to the House environment committee, aimed at preventing or reducing the impact of packaging and packaging waste on the environment.
Cyprus was supposed to introduce this measure by November 2016, but was given two months’ time in June by the EU, to show progress on the matter.

“The bill is ready. We will discuss it in our first meeting right after the summer holidays, and it must be passed by the House plenum in September. The measure must be in place as of January 1, 2018,” Greens’ MP and member of the environment committee, Charalambos Theopemptou told the Cyprus Mail.

He added that according to the bill, plastic carrier bags will be available at supermarkets at five cents each, which is a point of contention for MPs.

“Our main question as to the charge is whether this money will go to the companies (supermarkets) or if they will be used for another purpose,” Theopemptou said. He added that MPs are discussing whether a percentage of the five cents per bag should go to a fund which could be used for an environment awareness campaign.

The aim of the bill, is to reach the goals set by the EU; to ensure that no more than 90 of these bags are consumed per person a year by the end of 2019. By the end of 2025, that number should be down to no more than 40 bags per person.