In 2004, this cooperation resulted in the launch of the ECO-Sac initiative, which saw single-use plastic bags virtually disappear from supermarkets. This prevented the use of almost 1.9 billion bags, the Ministry of the Environment said, saving 13,000 tons of plastic.
Now the goal is to encourage consumers to use their reusable ECO bags as much as possible. Still, members of the public are purchasing up to five reusable shopping bags a year. This is too much, warned the Ministry, and should continue to be reduced. In the same vein, the stakeholders want to make further efforts to reduce plastic packaging in general.
