The plastic bags, which were introduced in the mid 1990’s turned into one of the biggest environmental problems. These bags are among the materials which take longest to decompose -sometimes even up to 1,000 years. Their recycling remains difficult nowadays. Statistical data is merely crushing. Every minute 1 million bags are used worldwide and they are used for around twelve minutes on average and then turn into waste. A total of 800,000 tons of polyester bags are used in the European Union each year, of which only 6% are later recycled. Many of the polyester bags depart on a one way ticket trip to the world ocean with the assistance of the wind and the river streams. Such bags can be even found in the polar ice. Scientists find polyester in the fish and the birds’ stomachs which is sometimes lethal for them. The polyester reaches our food chain through the animals, too. That is why an International Bag-Free Day was officially launched.

In Bulgaria it was marked with a flash mob entitled “Take Your Heads off the Bag and Face the Problem” held at the Central Sofia Market Hall. It was organized by the environmental association For the Earth which is a member of the Friends of the Earth international organization. In 2012 the thinnest and most used plastic bags were banned in all retail chains in Bulgaria. The authorities had to gradually impose a ban on the usage of the thickest bags as well, but the issue is still pending

Is there any positive effect from the first step and how big is the problem in Bulgaria?

“The problem in Bulgaria is clearly visible in the streets and especially around the open type dung-hills where we can enjoy the nearby trees decorated like at Christmas with various multi-colored plastic bags”, explains Evgeniya Tasheva, a coordinator of the Zero Waste program initiated by the For the Earth organization. The plastic bags are quite light and they never stay in the garbage bins. They have their own life and travel across the world with the assistance of the water streams and the wind. The measures were good, but after the pressure exerted by the manufacturers of plastic bags, some additional changes vitiated the initial idea. Now the shops charge for some of the bags only, thinnest ones remaining free. Practically, the consumer did not receive any price signal and the results are poor. As far as we are aware, the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water did not publish any official information about the impact of the first steps that have been already made.”

The ban introduced on the free use of single-use plastic bags regarded those with a total thickness of up to 25 microns. According to the criterion of the European Commission, a plastic bag with a thickness of over 50 microns can be categorized as a multi-use one, i.e. a twice thicker bag. This is the dimension of the compromise reached with the polyester industry.

There is an alternative, reads one of the messages during the flash mob organized For the Earth organization.

“There are many different solutions to the problem”, Evgenia Tasheva claims. “Firstly, one of the solutions regards the cloth bags which can be used for a very long time. There is nothing new in this solution, as textile bags were used until the mid 1990’s. Of course, there are thick plastic bags which, unlike the thinnest ones, are subject to multiple use. However, sooner or later they will turn into waste which takes ages to decompose. The use of non-renewable sources like petrol for the manufacture of plastic items with a relatively short life is intolerable. Petrol should be only used by transport. The single-use packages can be made of materials which decompose easily such as the bio plastic made of plants such as potatoes, grain, maize, etc. We are yet to develop new materials. They resemble plastic, but can go back into the soil through the so-called composting method.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov