Italy says ciao ciao to plastic bags

It is ciao ciao to non-biodegradable plastic bags in Italy.

A new law comes into force on January the 1st making it illegal for shops to use polyethylene bags.

Environmental groups welcome the move in a country that is one of Europe’s top plastic bag users.

Eva Alessi from the World Wildlife Fund said: “Every year each Italian uses 400 plastic bags and Italy in total is responsible for 25 per cent of all plastic bags that are used and produced in Europe.”

Shops can now only provide bags made of biodegradable plastic, cloth or paper, with the priority on reusable bags.

Other countries have tried various methods of cutting plastic bag use, including making customers pay for them.

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