Plastic waste: Ministry of the Environment prepares bag ban

The Federal Environment Ministry has launched a ban on plastic bags at the till. It is about so-called lightweight plastic carrier bags . The thinner sachets for fruit and vegetables, on the other hand, should not be affected, as are particularly stable models.

In Germany, about 20 of these bags would be used per year and per capita, according to the draft by Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD). Prohibition should be given to shops to issue such bags "that are destined to be filled at the point of sale with goods".

Schulze had announced the ban in August. Since 2016, there is a voluntary commitment of the trade, the plastic bags at the state treasury not free to give out. This was successful, with consumption falling from 68 per capita in 2015 to 24 last year. Thus, the Ministry of the Environment was initially satisfied despite criticism from environmental organizations. The bill now states that "it is unlikely that consumption on the basis of this agreement, which merely provides for a fee, will drop significantly below this level."

Criticism from the trade, skepticism among environmentalists

The trade association HDE had already criticized the proposed ban. Environmental organizations also see it with mixed feelings - because they are not far enough.

Although paper bags are more easily degradable in the environment, but otherwise have no better eco-balance than plastic, as the Nabu emphasized. He demands a legal delivery on all disposable bags. Even a spokesman for the Federal Ministry for the Environment had said in spring that plastic bags were basically "peanuts": they accounted for less than one percent of the volume of plastic packaging.

The proposed ban should also include "bio-based and biodegradable plastic carrier bags". Before assuming that so-called bio-plastics solve the environmental problems, Schulze had recently warned. "The alleged organic plastic is unfortunately usually a sham" and does not rot like real organic waste, she said. "There is virtually no eco-friendly bioplastics on the market." But it lacks a clear regulation.