Eco fee on all polyethylene bags becomes effective as of October 1

As of October 1, all producers and importers of polyethylene bags will pay the so-called eco fee which will amount to BGN 0.35 per item, BGN 0.45 at the beginning of 2013 and BGN 0.55 at the beginning of 2014. The measure was introduced by the Council of Ministers on June 13, 2012 with an amendment of the Ordinance defining the order and amount of payment of a product fee for products whose production generates mass waste, BIA posted.

The introduction of a product fee means that polyethylene bags will be commercially available at a cost of at least BGN 0.35. A lower price would mean that traders are selling them at a loss or at their own expense, or that they have acquired these through illegal import or production in the “informal” sector. As many as 1,200,000,000 polyethylene bags are used in Bulgaria every year and that is too much,” experts at the Waste Management and Soil Protection Directorate with the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water said.

The product fee, so far, was only paid for polyethylene bags with a width of less than 15 microns alone. That made a lot of producers and importers switch to thicker bags. According to representatives of the sector, the product fee for polyethylene bags that becomes effective as of October 1 is too high. After being introduced, between 3,000 and 6,000 people working in the sector will lose their jobs, the Bulgarian Association Polymers pointed out.

Bulgaria will be the country with the highest fee in the EU against the background of the lowest standard of living, representatives of the business sector state.

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