Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Affairs plans to begin phasing out the use of disposable plastic bags in stores. Minister of Environmental Affairs Amir Peretz believes he will succeed where his predecessors failed. The ministry will begin distributing reusable bags to shoppers around the country in the coming months, without charge. The program will continue for a defined period of time, after which the plastic bags will no longer be used in stores.
The experts in the ministry explain that after shopping in a shuk or supermarket consumers are left with a pile of plastic bags. While it is believed that most consumers will reuse the bags once or twice, ultimately they will be found in the nation’s garbage dumps where they continue to accumulate.
Peretz’s office began probing just how many bags are used and they were shocked to learn that Israelis will use 2.2 billion plastic bags annually. As such, the ministry is beginning by working with the larger nationwide chains such as Rami Levy, AM:PM, Mega and Sufersal.
While a timetable for the new program has yet to be set, it is believed the program will be underway in 2014. While the new bags are distributed for free, the plastic bags will still be offered, possibly accompanied by a minimal charge. This remains unclear at present. Peretz is aware that he cannot change a nation’s shopping habits over night. He is however optimistic and excited about the new environmentally friendly campaign. The operators of the major supermarket chains estimated 80 million NIS annually is spent on the plastic bags that are distributed free of charge so they too are willing to work towards the success of the new campaign.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
This proposal is long overdue. The imperative of tikun olam is something the new coalition government is finally taking seriously. This is a simple step that will have great benefits to everyone. In U.S. cities which have eliminated plastic bags or imposed a charge, most shoppers have started using cloth or canvas bags which are stronger, don’t tear in the parking lot and most importantly, don’t end up clogging our streams or burdening our landfills. This proposal will be especially well-received in the heimish neighborhoods where the plastic bag litter problem is most evident.
Where I live, most people bring reusable bags to the store. The store charges for each plastic bag. Keeps the cost down for the store, and hopefully they will pass those savings onto the customers.
Tikun olam? Are you serious? The world was created for us to use, not for us to put on a pedestal.
Reusing bags, is less sanitary and more expensive and very inconvenient for the customer who now will have to shlep a bunch of bags anywhere they go if afterwards they plan to go shopping.
For someone who has no car and who walks or takes busses everywhere, that would ad quite a burren.
Then they will have to add all those bags to their laundry which once again for many they will have to shlep to a laundromat and pay extra for washing.
Then on top of all that they will have to buy new bags as the old ones wear out.
But the extra burden and expenses are still not over, now they have to have double or triple the number since
shopping in many cases, must be done every day and when worms from apples drop into the bags or milk mixes with dripping juice from the meat now perhaps the bags must be b thrown out as treif.
At the very least, they must sit in the dirty laundry while others are used for shopping.
This is another dumb lie that the Israeli government is falling for with the environmental wackos. this will not help the environment.
Can they get rid of plastic bags around milk too? Those are nasty.