All kinds of disposable utensils in catering facilities may be banned from 2023, BelTA reports Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Alyaksandr Korbut as saying.
“A one-time ban on the use of disposable utensils is not expected: there will be a phased transition, so that industries and businesses could be prepared. On January 1, 2021 it is planned to ban only some types of disposable plastic tableware. Enterprises will be given a certain period of time to rebuild their production. A complete ban is still planned for 2023,” said Alyaksandr Korbut.
From January 1, 2021 there will be a ban on the use and sale of disposable utensils in catering facilities in line with the list determined by the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade. A corresponding draft resolution has been developed. It is assumed that the list will include containers, boxes, trays, lunch boxes, sticks, glasses, plates and cups. These are items made entirely or partially of polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene.
For the time being, it is proposed that disposable plastic lids, glasses, spoons, forks, knives and cocktail tubes be retained for sale and use in catering facilities.
In Belarus, polymer waste amounts to 280 thousand tons per year (about 25 kg of polymers per inhabitant).
