BERLIN, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Five years after Germany decided to phase out most single-use plastic shopping bags, retailers and the plastics industry point to clear progress, but environmental groups say loopholes and rising packaging waste indicate that tougher rules are needed.
"The ban has clearly reduced the use of plastic carrier bags in retail, but there are still far too many single-use plastic bags in circulation," said Viola Wohlgemuth of environmental group Environmental Action Germany (DUH).
The German Bundestag voted on Nov. 26, 2020, to ban the lightweight plastic carrier bags long handed out at supermarket checkouts. From January 2022, plastic bags with a thickness between 15 and 50 micrometers were no longer allowed at shop tills. The small, thin bags for fruit and vegetables remained permitted.
Retailers and the plastics industry say the shift in consumer habits is visible. Antje Gerstein, managing director of the German Retail Federation, highlighted an "estimated 80-percent drop in the use of single-use plastic bags and a growing reliance on sturdier reusable carriers."
According to EU statistics, the average number of lightweight plastic bags used per person in Germany fell from more than 57.2 in 2018 to 30.9 in 2023, meaning the country already meets the European Union's 2025 target of no more than 40 bags per capita. The environment ministry expects the figures to continue to decline.
Environmental groups, however, accuse parts of the retail sector of undermining the spirit of the law by selling so-called "cheat bags."
"We have found that, even years after the official ban on single-use plastic bags, there are still easily tearable bags, or so-called 'cheat bags,'" said DUH circular economy expert Thomas Fischer, adding that some chains in Germany have made their bags just thick enough to fall outside the legal definition.
"These bags are 51 micrometers, only minimally thicker than the limit, and are still in circulation by the millions. They still have a single-use character but are offered legally," Fischer said, calling on lawmakers either to widen the scope of the ban or make such bags significantly more expensive.
According to Wohlgemuth, retailers in Germany have now increasingly relied on fairly thick plastic bags or reusable cloth bags. She warned, however, that low prices are encouraging overconsumption.
"People often buy a new bag simply because they forgot the one at home, even though their cupboards are already full," she said. To reduce the number of bags in circulation, she called for the introduction of a deposit-and-return system.
For the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, the debate over carrier bags risks overshadowing a much larger challenge.
"Plastic bags are only the tip of the iceberg," said NABU resources policy head Indra Enterlein. "Packaging waste in Germany was still at 250 kilograms per capita in 2023. And contrary to what we might assume, the EU average is only 178 kilograms per person per year."
"When I walk into a supermarket, what strikes me most is the sheer amount of single-use packaging. Therefore, what really matters is not just plastic bags, but how we can reduce packaging in the first place," she said.
She called on politicians to create the right framework, making environmentally friendly alternatives cheaper than plastic so that they become attractive for producers. Otherwise, she warned, sustainable options will struggle to gain a foothold. ■
