The State Committee for Standardization of Belarus has proposed to ban the circulation of a number of types of plastic packaging in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). In Belarus, they explained that they want to reduce environmental pollution and facilitate recycling. The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia opposed the initiative, RBC reports with reference to the minutes of the meeting of representatives of the EAEU countries on November 16.
Belarus proposed to ban in the EAEU countries plastic bags up to 50 micrometers thick, PVC labels on plastic bottles, foam polystyrene packaging (soft plastic trays for storing food products) and packaging made of degradable plastic with the addition of a catalyst (biodegradable bags).
The State Committee of the Republic of Belarus for Standardization is responsible for the development of amendments to the Customs Regulation on the safety of packaging. This was announced by a representative of the Eurasian Economic Commission. A participant in the EAEU meeting said that Belarusian officials explained at the meeting that plastic packaging cannot be recycled and pollutes nature.
The minutes of the meeting say that the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia opposes the abolition of the use of plastic bags, because "the ban is not properly reasoned, and first you need to study its impact on the markets of the EAEU countries." It also violates the established sanitary and epidemiological measures, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the department said. In addition, the rejection of plastic packaging "can lead to unreasonable additional costs for enterprises and an increase in prices for goods in such packaging."
The position of Russia was supported by Kazakhstan. In total, the Eurasian Economic Union includes five countries - Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.
Last year, Rospotrebnadzor proposed to legally prohibit the destruction of products suitable for consumption. Also, the department said that it is necessary to use unclaimed food as a "source of bioenergy", and gradually introduce a ban on disposable plastic bags, replacing them with containers for repeated use.]>
