From tomorrow, on June 1, the use of plastic bags in the territory of the Republic of Albania will be banned. The draft law on banning plastic bags was sent to parliament 2 years ago, providing for the first time fines for businesses and citizens.

Despite the set deadline, the law was sent late to the Assembly for approval and October 1, 2020 was set as the new deadline for the implementation of the initiative, which again was not met.

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, through a post on Facebook says that from June 1, a new era will begin for the country.

The initiative to ban disposable plastic bags, the Prime Minister emphasizes, is in favor of protecting the homeland and children.

Earlier, the head of government clarified that there will be no release for plastic bag manufacturers.

Even the Minister of Environment of Albania, Mirela Kumbaro, says that the initiative will be carried out under strict monitoring, and for violators the law provides penalties.

“The amount of the fine ranges from 500 thousand new leke, ie 5 million old leke, up to 1 million and 500 thousand, or 15 million old leke. But there are also more severe measures than that for violators. In the first place the seizure of all goods to be found because it is considered illegal. “If this is repeated, the activity license for offenders will be revoked.” – says Kumbaro.

In Albania, 198 tons of plastic waste are produced every day. Even according to the data of the National Waste Management Plan 2010-2025 by the European Commission and the Albanian Government, in Albania are produced 198 tons per day of low density plastic waste and 111 tons per day of high density plastic waste.