BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.18
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
The Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Ecology of Azerbaijan’s Parliament held a regular session on Nov.17, Trend reports.
Touching upon the proposed amendments to the draft law ‘On Environmental Protection’ (first reading), the Committee’s Chairman Sadig Gurbanov noted that the draft was developed in accordance with the Action Plan to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment in Azerbaijan for 2019-2020, approved by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on February 7, 2019.
Gurbanov spoke about the long non-decomposition of plastic waste, the annual increase of their volume in nature, the negative effect of toxic fumes on the atmosphere during combustion.
It was pointed out that thin polyethylene bags play a big role in environmental pollution because of their resistance to decomposition.
The amendments offered to impose restrictions on the import, production, sale, and delivery of polyethylene bags up to 15 microns thick, as well as plastic disposable tableware to buyers at trade, catering, and service facilities by entrepreneurs.
It was proposed to enforce the law for polyethylene bags since January 1, 2021, and for disposable plastic products since July 1, 2021.
Within the first reading there draft law on amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses was also discussed, which, as the chairman said, bear adaptive character. The amendments proposed to envision an administrative liability for the import, production, sale, and delivery of polyethylene bags up to 15 microns thick, as well as disposable tableware to buyers at trade, catering and service facilities by entrepreneurs.
During the session, it was also stated that the proposed amendments will play an exceptional role in environmental protection. Further, both draft laws were recommended to be discussed at the parliament’s plenary session.