Israel announces national plan to cut plastic disposables by 40 pct

JERUSALEM, July 19– The Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Environmental Protection on Monday announced a joint program to reduce the use of disposable plastic products in the country. The plan is expected to reduce the use of these plastic products by about 40 percent, after their consumption rate in Israel was doubled in the last decade, the…

JERUSALEM, July 19 (Xinhua) — The Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP) on Monday announced a joint program to reduce the use of disposable plastic products in the country.

The plan is expected to reduce the use of these plastic products by about 40 percent, after their consumption rate in Israel was doubled in the last decade, the ministries said in a statement.

The annual household consumption of disposable plastic products in Israel is about 7.5 kg per capita, 5 times higher than the average in the European Union, they added.

As part of the plan, a purchase tax will be levied on local production and importation of these products based on their weight.

The amount of the tax will be based on a study conducted by the MoEP, according to which doubling the products’ consumer prices is expected to reduce their use by about 40 percent.

The tax will be levied on plastic cups, plates, bowls, cutlery and straws, according to the statement.

“Plastic disposables cause significant damage to the environment and public health. They quickly turn from useful products into a waste that sometimes continues to exist for thousands of years,” the ministries explained.

“This leads to increased costs of garbage disposal, as well as to pollution of seas, open spaces and public areas. This also fixates the dependence on polluting fossil fuels from which plastic is made,” they added. Enditem