ANKARA
Since banning most free plastic bags beginning in 2019, Turkey prevented 8,000 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the Environment and Urbanization Ministry said Thursday.
With usage of plastic bag down 77%, 200,000 tons of plastic have been saved, the ministry said in figures shared on Twitter.
Worldwide, 5 trillion plastic bags are used annually, including 35 billion in Turkey. That accounts for nearly 35 bags per person per month, before the Jan. 1, 2019 change, according to the data.
Since that date, the number of bags used per person fell to 10 per month.
Read more: Turkey change prevents 8K tons of GHG emission in 2019
