From July 1, shops in Lithuania will no longer be allowed to issue single-use plastic bags for free. How much will they cost?
In a bid to reduce plastic waste, last year, a decision was taken to ban free single-use plastic bags in Lithuania.
However, due to hygiene requirements, lightweight plastic bags will continue to be free for meat and fish products.
In Lidl stores, a lightweight single-use plastic bag will cost 1 cent. Shoppers will need to tell the cashier how many single-use bags they have used. At self-checkout, they will need to scan a card with the code for the single-use plastic bag for it to be included in the shopping bill.
In Maxima stores, a single-use plastic bag will be sold as a normal item and will also cost 1 cent. As before, disposable bags will be available alongside weighted goods, such as fruit, vegetables, sweets, etc.
Iki and Aibė shops will also charge 1 cent for a single-use plastic bag. The supermarket chain Rimi said it was still considering how much such a bag could cost.
Meanwhile, the supermarket chain Norfa indicated that it has a pricing policy whereby any product of the same quality cannot cost more than in other supermarkets. Norfa is therefore expected to sell single-use plastic bags for 1 cent each.
It should be noted that shoppers can also choose more environmentally friendly alternatives, such as free paper bags for bread or confectionery, or reusable mesh bags.
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