Russia prepares to ban single-use plastic dishes and cutlery

Russia may completely ban the use of plastic dinnerware in the near future, according to the Minister of National Resources and Environment Dmitry Kobylkin.

“We support the global trend to cut the use of plastic,” Kobylkin told media. “We’re preparing for restrictions, it will take time to acknowledge and to accept it.”

Meanwhile, many Russians are already embracing the eco trend, according to a recent Levada Center survey. As many as 30% of Russians use returnable bags instead of one-way plastic bags for groceries, while 1 in 6 Russians are ready to give up single-use plastic for good.

“This initiative is reasonable, because there is too much plastic waste on the planet,” MP Elena Serova, head of the environmental committee of the Lower House, told RT. “As for plastic cutlery, all developed countries should banish it”.

This is not the first time Russian authorities discussed measures to restrict use of plastic goods. Last year, PM Dmitry Medvedev pledged to ban plastic cutlery. In April, a senior MP came up with an initiative to prohibit the use of plastic bags, stressing that they became “a key issue” in regards to pollution.

READ MORE: Russian MPs mull complete ban on plastic bags

If the initiative becomes law, Russia would follow the EU which restricted single-use plastic cutlery, cotton buds, straws, and stirrers, in order to fight excessive plastic waste earlier this year. Several US states and cities, including Hawaii and New York, have also banned single-use plastics.

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