The sale and use of disposable plastic cutlery, except for biodegradable flatware, will be banned by law as of January 1, 2021. A bill to this effect was given a first reading by Parliament on November 22, IPN reports.

The private individuals who will not comply will be fined 3,000 to 6,000 lei, while the legal entities 6,000 to 12,000 lei or an amount equal to the value of the given product, but not less than 12,000 lei.

One of the bill authors, Liberal MP Ștefan Vlas said the water and soil in Moldova are polluted with such plastic products that decay during a long period of time and their burning causes serious damage to the environment. Even if it can be recycled, only a small part of plastic cutlery goes through such a process. Most of the times, plastic flatware litters streets and other places.

According to the MP, the disposable plastic cutlery can be replaced with products made from paper, corn flour, organic hemp, wheat, sugar beet, sugar cane, starch, remains of apples or of products that contain biodegradable additives, etc.

The law will take effect in 2021 only so that the business entities have time to rethink production, stated Ștefan Vlas.

The bill authors wait for amendments for the second reading.

Earlier, the national legislation was supplemented with provisions by which the use and sale of plastic bags is banned as of January 1, 2019.