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From January 1, 2025, Tajikistan will ban the import and use of bags made of ethylene polymers with a thickness of up to 15 microns. This is reported by the agency "Khovar" with reference to the representative of the Committee for Environmental Protection of Tajikistan.

An exception is bags made of ethylene polymers that do not have handles, used for packaging and packaging of goods that are an integral part of goods sold in the form of rolls for domestic use, as well as from rapidly decomposing polymeric biomaterials.

When importing packages of ethylene polymers into the territory of Tajikistan, importers will have to submit to the Customs Service the relevant conclusion of the Agency for Standardization, Metrology, Certification and Trade Inspection to determine the thickness of the packages.

The micron index determines the thickness of the package, the load that it can withstand. Packages from 7 to 100 microns and above are produced. 15 microns is 0.015 millimeters. Films up to 15 microns are used for packaging goods in retail outlets and have a very wide application. Due to the thinness of the material, they are most often used once and then thrown away.

Films above 15 microns are used for industrial purposes, have a longer shelf life and are less likely to end up in the trash. Therefore, the issue of environmental pollution with thin packaging films is acute.

To implement this decision, the authorities of the republic will take measures to develop the production of environmentally friendly packaging from cardboard, paper, fabric and biodegradable polymer materials. In addition, the government's Committee on Environmental Protection will also take action to exempt from part of the payments for environmental pollution and waste disposal the enterprises engaged in the production of environmentally friendly packaging, and shopping centers that have refused to sell bags of ethylene polymers.

As the experts of the Committee explained, bags up to 15 microns thick are dangerous because, under the ultraviolet rays of the sun, they emit harmful substances that are dangerous for the environment, which can adversely affect the soil of the earth.

For information, it will take 10 years for a tin can to completely decompose, a plastic bag - 100 years, and food-grade plastic products - 500 years.

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Photo: packaging-gateway.com