Montenegro

Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Protection and UNDP launched a new joint initiative on Earth Day

Mr. Igor Jovanović, Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Protection said: “Considering that plastic bags take long time to decompose, developed countries are working hard to eliminate them from daily use. As of 2010 they will be legally banned in EU countries. On the other hand, in Montenegro they are being used mercilessly. When we get a plastic bag for free we should have in mind that society and environmental protection pay very high price for their usage,” emphasized Mr. Jovanović. He also said that Montenegro on its path towards the EU integration would undertake activities on respecting the EU requests regarding plastic bag ban. “In the near future the Ministry will set up mechanisms for reduction and complete elimination of plastic bags, starting with taxes and legal prohibition later,” concluded Mr. Jovanović.

Ms. Ružica Brnović, Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Protection reminded that a meeting was held early this April with representatives of all leading trade companies in Montenegro, and all of them agreed to gradually exclude plastic bags from use. “At the meeting the Ministry took over the obligation to prepare a set of measures for gradual putting plastic bags out of use. Some of these measures would be: replacing plastic bags thinner than 25 microns with plastic bags with additives, which decompose within several years; printing messages on bags to promote their usage in the way least harmful for the environment; obligatory charging for bags in shops; introduction of tax on their usage, etc.,” said Ms. Brnović.

Ms. Milica Begović Radojević, PhD, UNDP Montenegro Economy and Environment Cluster Leader announced that the UNDP will provide the Ministry with the expert support in conducting a study by which a range of solutions will be identified in order to deal with this issue. “This initiative and its implementation will translate a proverbial commitment to the Ecological State in our constitution to a concrete measure that will set an example in the region how protection of environment complements development of tourism, economic growth and prosperity. On this occasion, UNDP will support the Government of Montenegro through its Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Protection to set an example through concrete actions in resolving a problem of plastic bags. As a developing and world-renowned tourism destination and an Ecological State, Montenegro can hardly afford to stand idle in face of plastic waste problem,” said dr Radojević Begović.

Dr Radojević Begović also reminded how dangerous are plastic bags to our environment:

Aside from polluting our environment, plastic bags:

• While their use is limited to few minutes or hours, they take some 1000 years to decompose and even then, they never fully decompose
• They are made out of petrochemicals, which is a non-renewable source
• Their production results in air pollution
• Less than 6% of plastic bags are recycled globally.  When one ton of plastic bags are reused as something else other than plastic, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil is saved
• 1 billion seabirds and mammals die per year by ingesting plastic bags
• Estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. 
• In other words, in 5 minutes that it will take me to deliver my speech here today, some 4.5 million plastic bags globally will have just been consumed. 

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Different countries have dealt with the problem differently:

- In Ireland, a 15 cent tax on plastic bags in first year succeeded in: (i) generating over €11 million that was used for implementation of Environmental legislation, (ii) decreased usage of plastic bags by 90%, and (iii) boosted economy through growth of a sector that deals with production of permanent bags.  The Government of Ireland increased the tax from .15 to 22. cents in 2007
- In South Africa, government collects .3 cents per shopping bag
- In Australia, the use of alternative, ‘green shopping bags’ reduced usage of plastic bags by over 50%, which equates to savings of approximately 1.4 million barrels of oil and thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide
- In Bangladesh, plastic bags are all-together banned as they are believed to cause flooding during mansoon season by clogging drains

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The modern environmental movement was born on April 22nd 1970 when over 20 million Americans took to the streets, protesting for protection of a healthy and sustainable environment.  Some 48 years later, this event constitutes the largest secular civic event in the world and a catalyst for new policies and legislation, and our collective action and resolution to preserve the natural resources.