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Tue, 01 Nov, 2016 12:00:34 AM FTimes- STT Report, Nov 1  File Photo Lehtikuva Agriculture and Environment Minister Kimmo Tiilikainen and the Federation of Finnish Chamber of Commerce’s CEO Juhani Pekkala have signed an agreement aimed at reducing the con-sumption of plastic bags.
The announcement was made public on Monday.
The ten-year commitment is part of the new EU's Packaging Waste Directive. The aim of the agreement is that by 2025, there would be a maximum of 40 plastic bags per capita per year. Ac-cording to current estimates, the average person uses 55 plastic bags annually.
The reduction applies to all plastic bags offered at retail outlets. The objective, however, does not include plastic bags used for food such as fruits or vegetables, bulk sales, or for hygienic reasons.
The Green Deal agreement is voluntary, not statutory. However, EU member states must contin-ue reporting annual consumption rates of plastic bags.
File Photo Lehtikuva Meanwhile, the S Group has shown its commitment to the agreement by, among other things, extending the chargeability of plastic bags and offering biodegradable heavy bags as an alternate to plastic.
“The aim is also to increase the sale of reusable bags. The very light plastic bags used for self-service checkout will be eliminated,” said S Group planning director Mika Lyytikäinen in a statement.
The small bags will disappear from Kesko's cashiers by the end of next year.
“Upon request, a small bag may be given for, for example, plants that are dripping water, or meat packages containing excess fluids,” Kesko said in a statement.
In addition, Kesko plans to charge for all plastic bags in all K Group food stores, hardware stores, agricultural and machine shops, and furniture stores starting at the beginning of next year. Kesko also offers, among other things, fabric bags as an alternative to plastic bags.
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