The ban, which will take effect before July, is the sale of leftovers in some stores.

The Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the environmental impact of certain plastic products, adopted in June 2019, must be transposed into Community law before July 3, 2021.

From this date, plastic earplugs, cutlery, plates, straws, blenders, balloon sticks will not be marketed. The supply of disposable products and food containers, beverage containers and transparent plastic polystyrene foam caps for aerobes will also be prohibited.

As the director of the Institute for Green Policy, Remigijus Lapinskas, points out, more bans are expected a little later.

“For example, in the next 5 years, Lithuania will have to take measures to reduce the consumption of food and immediate packaging or beverage packaging with caps and lids. It is still difficult to predict how Lithuania will manage to implement this task. It is important that manufacturers have clear requirements and are able to adapt to new requirements in time.

Under the directive, states will also have to charge 90% by 2029. disposable plastic beverage bottles placed on the market. This will definitely not be a challenge for Lithuania, because we have already reached this indicator due to the guarantee system, ”he told Delfi.

The interviewee also pointed out that the Disposable Plastic Products Reduction Directive was adopted 2 years ago, so that all parties had time to prepare for its implementation during this period.

Although the requirements of the directive have not yet entered into force, supermarket shelves have gradually begun to fill up with alternative products, such as replacing disposable plastic tableware with wooden ones, plastic plates with paper, etc. Most of the retailers have long decided to abandon no longer order, ”said R. Lapinskas.

No more orders

Ernesta Dapkienė, director of Maxima’s Image and Communication Department, told Delfi that the network has not been requesting new disposable plastic products for some time.

“There is only a small balance of disposable plastic products for sale, but Maxima stores currently have all the alternatives to disposable plastic products. We offer buyers a selection of tableware, cutlery, straws, ear plugs, etc. disposables made of paper, wood, recyclable plastic and other eco-friendly materials, ”he said.

He added that by 2025, Maxima aims to reduce plastic consumption by 30%. and ensure that all plastic packaging for private label products is 100% recyclable.

“We are working with determination and implementing various initiatives that contribute to reducing the excessive use of plastics. Today we offer our customers the opportunity to make purchases using cardboard boxes, jute fiber, recycled paper or recyclable plastic bags. All plastic shopping bags are recyclable. We analyze various possibilities to transform as many plastic containers as possible into environmentally friendly, sustainable and non-toxic materials.

We also reduce the use of plastics in our daily activities and apply increasingly environmentally friendly solutions. For example, we are purchasing new freight containers with silicone tie-down straps, so we refuse to pack disposable film containers, ”said E. Dapkienė.

Implemented before

Liudvikas Aleliūnas, Head of Social Responsibility at Rimi Baltic, said that they had implemented the EU directive earlier than indicated.

“Since the beginning of this year, Rimi stores in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have been selling disposable paper cups, plates, cutlery, straws and earplugs, the use of which does not contribute to the pollution of the oceans with plastic. Thus, it will be possible to reduce the use of plastic by 100 tonnes per year in the three Baltic countries. “We encourage our customers to choose reusable products over single-use products whenever possible,” he said.

L. Aleliūnas noted that the surface of some alternative disposable products, such as paper cups, is covered with a layer of plastic to ensure durability. However, the search for completely plastic-free alternatives is one of Rimi’s priorities.

“At the same time, we have to keep in mind that disposable products are easy to use and their price is acceptable to buyers.

Most of the disposable plastic products, the sale of which has been prohibited by the European Union directive since July 3 this year, have already been sold by the Rimi network and offer customers ecological alternatives. Rimi also aims to have all the plastic packaging of the network’s private label products recycled or reused by the end of 2022.

We work hard to find new packaging solutions that reduce the use of plastics and increase the recycling of waste or the reuse of materials. New packaging for Rimi products will be introduced earlier this year, such as salads in thinner plastic containers and smaller, thinner bags for fresh fish. This will reduce the use of plastic by 35 tons per year, “said a Rimi representative.

Look extremely responsible

Lidl Lietuva, Lidl Lietuva’s public relations representative, recalled that their network recalled disposable plastic products in the summer of 2019.

“We have replaced these products with equivalents of alternative and recyclable materials. We have also replaced the plastic forks with wooden ones in the salads and mixes available in the range. Currently, the straws that are used for juice packaging are also being replaced: they are being replaced by paper instead of plastic. We don’t use transparent aerobic plastic or Styrofoam, ”he said.

L. Skersytė emphasized that Lidl takes plastic reduction very responsibly and has already achieved many goals.

“At the end of 2019, Lidl Lietuva presented a plastic reduction campaign“ Thanks to the size of the whale ”. The main objective of this campaign is to remember the damage that plastic causes to nature and to encourage buyers to choose more environmentally friendly alternatives. At the beginning of 2020, we became the first of the major Lithuanian retail chains to abandon all disposable plastic bags for shopping. We replaced them with natural paper bags that would not cause harm if released into the environment. In this way, we reduce about 90 tons of plastic per year. We also present reusable bags for fruits, vegetables and bulk products. These bags are recommended as an alternative to the disposable plastic bags commonly used to make these products.

We have also reduced the amount of plastic in Saguaro water bottles. 1.5 l of Saguaro water bottles now consume almost 18 percent. less plastic, and for 0.5 l bottles, about 21 percent. less. As a result of this solution, we will reduce our plastic consumption by more than 47 tons each year. Last fall, Lidl also reduced the packaging of 13 fresh meat products. Depending on the packaging, the plastic was reduced from 8 to 47 percent. As part of the Schwarz Group’s plastic reduction strategy, REset Plastic, we plan to reduce the amount of plastic packaging by 20% by the end of 2025, and our goal is to have 100% of all private label plastic packaging in the retail chain for last. 2025. suitable for recycling, “he said.

Sold

Since the summer of 2019, the Iki chain also sells utensils, straws, tools, cups and disposable plastic cups.

Iki is the first retailer to abandon these types of plastic products. We commercialize this type of products made with sustainable materials: paper, wood. We are also recalling plastic ear plugs. We no longer order plastic earplugs, there are small leftovers in stores, ”said Vaida Budrienė, Iki’s communications manager.

He added that suppliers are already buying earplugs made from sustainable materials this year. “By the way, sales did not drop due to such changes. They are very similar to plastic analogs,” he said.

Darius Ryliškis, a Norfa representative, also said that the disposable plastic products in question are currently running out.

“We hardly made new orders. They will be replaced by analogues made of wood, paper and sugar cane,” he explained.