A bill passed by Parliament in the first reading bans the use of disposable plastic bags at retail outlets. These are to be replaced with bags from paper, starch or fabric. As of January 1, 2019, restrictions will be imposed for thicker bags, with or without handle. The use of thinner bags in trade will be banned as of January 1, 2020, while the very thin ones as of January 1, 2021, IPN reports.

One of the bill authors, Liberal MP Valerian Bejan said that each Moldovan annually uses 140 plastic bags on average, which is 420 million bags overall. These decay in several hundred years and emit toxic gases when they are burned. The production of starch bags is a solution given that Moldova has a surplus of such material.

Asked by MPs how this ban will influence the labor market, Valerian Bejan said only one company produces plastic bags in Moldova, while the other traders import these. The law does not yet ban the export of plastic bags from Moldova.

Under the bill, the use and sale of disposable plastic bags will be penalized with a fine of 5,000 to 7,500 lei in the case of private individuals and of 5,000 to 10,000 lei in the case of legal entities.