Slovenia bans most single-use plastics; hefty fines for wrongdoers

Bulgaria, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland are the laggards of the transposition process

In line with EU’s Directive, the Slovenian government has banned the sale of single-use plastic products save for a few exceptions, STA news agency reports. Offences are punishable by large fines.

The national regulation, endorsed at a government session earlier this week, also sets out new rules for the labelling of a range of single-use plastic items and their packaging to raise awareness about recycling.

Which products are banned?

Products to be banned under the regulation include plastic cutlery, plates and straws as well as ear swabs, except for those used in health facilities. Also prohibited are plastic stir sticks and balloon sticks with the exception of those intended for purely industrial use.

The regulation also bans expanded polystyrene food and drink packaging and items made of oxo-degradable plastics.

Labelling and packaging

The regulation also prescribes labelling of certain disposable plastic products and their packaging to inform consumers on how to handle the resulting waste. The items that should be labelled include pads, tampons and applicators, wet wipes, tobacco products with filters, filters marketed in combination with tobacco products, and cups.

The ban will take effect fifteen days after the regulation is published in the Official Gazette.

Non-compliance will be punishable by fines ranging up to EUR 15,000 for legal entities, up to EUR 5,000 for sole proprietors and up to EUR 3,000 for the executive or proprietor in charge.

How is EU’s anti-plastics drive moving ahead?

In 2019, the EU passed the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) which envisaged progressively banning the use of single-use plastic products to reduce marine pollution and promote a transition to a circular economy. However, performance in implementing the directive has been uneven among member states.

According to a July report by the Rethink Plastic alliance, France, Greece, Ireland, Sweden, Estonia, and Malta are ahead of the pack. These member states have already adopted the measures required to transpose the SUP Directive into national law, and have even given more than is due by introducing additional reduction measures. At the other end of the scale are Bulgaria, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland, which “have barely begun the transposition process or have been delaying it,” Rethink Plastic concludes.

The remaining member states have only partially transposed the measures of the SUPD. In Croatia, the Directive is expected to be applied concurrently with the country’s new waste management law, which is in the final stages of adoption.