An eco-friendly theme has been running through several petitions posted in recent weeks, with Petition N°650 by Anouk Agnes calling for a ban of single-use plastic bags in Luxembourg in order to better protect the environment.

In her petition, which has so-far reached 573 signatures since being opened on the Chamber of Deputies website on 24 May 2016, Ms. Agnes asked that the Luxembourg government follow in the footsteps of countries such as Italy and France, which from next month will be prohibiting plastic bags for single use.

Currently, such bags are not prohibited in the Grand Duchy, but incur a small additional charge to encourage shoppers to bring their own and prevent the further use of plastic. Disposable bags for carrying fruit and vegetables are however provided for free in supermarkets, as well as bakeries and pharmacies. These bags tend to be petroleum-based, making them difficult to recycle.

The petitioner cited information from French website Qu'est-ce Qu'on Fait?, which shows the heavy toll that a plastic bag can have on the environment, being of use for between 20-30 minutes whilst taking over 200 years to disintegrate. In Europe, an estimated 8 billion bags consequently end up in open landfills or in rivers.

In 2013, EU Member States were asked to reduce their plastic bag consumption by the European Commission, which has had its desired result and seen decreases in the use of plastic bags across the Union. Although Luxembourg consumes the relatively low 18 bags per capita annually, Finland and Denmark have surged ahead with the comparatively miniscule figure of 4 bags per capita per year.

"To get there, a ban on plastic bags for single use seems appropriate," the petition statement read. "There is no valid argument against such a ban: indeed, reusable plastic bags (of more than 50 microns thick) will remain available for a fee in shops."

Ms. Agnes further suggested that plant-based plastic bags be considered a useful alternative to regular polythene bags, due to being easily biodegradable.

If you wish to sign the petition, click here.

 

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