Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources in Azerbaijan informs that discussion of a new policy to minimize ecological harms is being undergone. To realize this policy, Azerbaijani government will set a price on plastic bags to discourage people using them.
Plastic bags are one of the common causes of pollution, leading to climate change in the end. They cannot be recycled or reused to decrease the environmental littering. Plastic bags are burnt consequently, and excessive amount of gas releases to the atmosphere. Plastic bags also pose health hazards to populations as over time they leach toxic chemicals into drinking water supplies. Many countries worldwide try to raise awareness on the cons of plastic bags, replacing them with tote bags which are made of original cotton or putting a value on plastic bags to discourage population. Many people in Western countries have already started to use storage, tote and produce bags instead of plastic bags. Some people prefer not taking any bag.
Recently, Azerbaijan has also started to take responsibility on replacement of plastic bag usage. It is predicted that people will have to pay additional money to get these bags. The amount of value will be put is unknown for now. Todays, it is very challenging for Azerbaijani population to avoid using plastic bags because they are widely used and free everywhere. If the state first sets the value of 0.10-0.20 AZN and double it within 5 years, people will dramatically decrease the usage.
According to SDGs (Sustainable developmental Goals) accepted by UN in 2015, combatting with climate change is the thirteenth goal. Implementing this project, ecology of Azerbaijan will heal a great deal.
Gunay Ismayilzadeh