News: Ban on free plastic bags
As of January 1st shops in the Netherlands are banned from giving away plastic bags for free. The ban is part of a wider effort to reduce litter on the streets and in the seas. It is also a way to prevent raw materials from being wasted.
We use approximately 3 billion plastic bags each year in the Netherlands. A large amount of these bags ends up in the bin or becomes litter on the streets. All members of the European Union have the obligation to decrease the use of plastic bags and therefore all retailers on are required from now to charge for the plastic bags they offer. There are a few exceptions in which the customer doesn’t have to pay for the bags, for example when the plastic bags protects the food from pollution or bacteria.
