Towards complying with new EU regulation to curb the consumption of single-use plastics and thus reduce waste – see Plasteurope.com of 03.01.2019 – Slovakia is moving to phase out nine types of products up to January 2021. The list covers single-use plastic plates, cutlery, stirrers, straws, sticks for balloons, cotton buds, food containers and two types of drink cups.

Currently, Slovakia imports up to 14,000 t/y of non-packaging plastic products, for the most part straws, plates and cutlery. These could be replaced by more ecologic alternatives, said environment minister László Sólymos. As the country wants to become a leader in fighting plastics waste in Central Europe, it hopes to implement its new regulations ahead of the EU deadline, the minister said, adding he is “convinced that Slovakia has to stop being a perpetual catcher-up in the fight against waste.” The proposed new rules have already been adopted as an amendment to Slovakia’s waste legislation, with methods of implementation and enforcement planned to be discussed by government departments later in 2019, the national news agency Sita reported.

In 2017, the country’s parliament passed a law banning the use of single-use carrier bags. Legislation that would place a deposit of EUR 0.10 on a plastic bottle and EUR 0.12 on a tin can is in preparation. According to estimates, each Slovak consumes 466 plastic bags per year, compared with the EU average of 200, while around 1 bn PET bottles are consumed across the country annually. In addition, each resident discards around 200 of the bottles each year, with some 400m of the beverage containers ending up in municipal waste facilities or in the landscape.