The Kurdistan Regional Government KRG decided to ban the use of plastic bags for packaging and directed to replace them with paper bags. The decision went into effect in Erbil, and the local government in Sulaymaniyah Northern Province expressed its support for its implementation though have not been officially notified, amid protests from some bakery and oven owners of the double cost.
The KRG Ministry of Health sent a letter in mid-July to the General Directorates of Health in the provinces of the region and the independent administrations stipulating the ban on the use of plastic bags in bakeries, ovens and restaurants and replacing them with paper bags.
Awat Mohammed, the mayor of Sulaymaniyah, told (KirkukNow) that the letter from the Ministry of Health has not officially reached the mayoralty. "Whenever we receive the order, we will support its implementation."
This comes at a time when the KRG media indicated that the decision had entered into force and published on social media on July 29 pictures of a number of bakeries that had adhered to the decision to use paper bags instead of nylon.
Kiwan Khalil, a member of the joint committees affiliated with the Sulaymaniyah Province, told (KirkukNow), "We have not received any official letter from the Ministry of Health to ban the use of nylon bags."
This is the second time the government has decided to use paper instead of nylon; the first time was in 2019, but according to (KirkukNow) follow-ups, most bakeries, restaurants and bakeries in Sulaymaniyah still use nylon bags.
The amount of waste collected daily in Sulaymaniyah is estimated at over 1,000 tons per day, without plastic being separated from other waste. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Iraq indicated in a report published in 2022 that "Iraq produces about 30,000 tons of solid waste daily.”
“The country lacks real waste management infrastructure to dispose this waste in a proper way that ensures no negative environmental nor health effects, therefore, most of it gets disposed in unregulated landfills.”
Danyar Omid, a baker in Sulaymaniyah, does not deny the health damage caused by plastic bags and supports the use of paper bags, but he cannot accept the decision on the grounds that "the cost of paper bags is higher. The decision was there, but it was not implemented for this reason."
His bakery consumes between one to two kilograms of plastic bags daily, each kilogram costs 2,500 Iraqi dinars IQD (USD1.65), while the cost of paper bags is double. "If the price of paper bags is reduced, we will abide by the decision because it is in our interest and the interest of the citizens," according to Daniyar.
On the other hand, there are those who support the implementation of the decision to replace plastic bags with paper ones, including Ari Azad, a resident of the city of Salmaniya. Azad says that sometimes the heat of the bread melts the plastic bag it is packed in, so he calls for using paper bags.
In October 2019, the KRG Ministry of Health of the region issued a letter banning the use of plastic bags in ovens and bakeries, a few months after a request was sent by the Environmental Protection Authority to the Prime Minister's Office.
Mayor of Sulaymaniyah explained to (KirkukNow) that the province began in 2019 to implement the decision to reduce plastic waste and ban the use of nylon bags in ovens and bakeries, but "due to the lack of cooperation between the parties concerned with the issue, it was not possible to proceed with the implementation of the decision and make it successful."
The mayor of Sulaymaniyah suggested providing facilities to encourage shop owners to use paper instead of plastic, such exempting tax on import of paper bags and flour, and reducing electricity bills for ovens and bakeries.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics in Iraq, the average waste generated by each citizen was 2.5 kilograms per day in 2022, totaling 11.9 million tons daily, causing significant environmental pollution.
Dr. Zhino Khalid, head of the Environmental Sciences Department at the College of Environmental Sciences at the University of Sulaimani, told (KirkukNow), "Nylon bags contain several types of polymers that have harmful effects on health and are among the causes of cancer."
Dr. Khalid says that her follow-ups show that the use of plastic has increased significantly after 2000. "People now want to use products that are easy to dispose of, although this leads to an increase in the volume of waste and harms the environment and health."
About five trillion disposable nylon bags are used annually in the world, which leads to the pollution of the oceans and the environment in general, clogging sewage channels, eliminating wildlife and causing irreparable damage to nature. The only solution, according to a United Nations report, is to resort to bags that can be reused continuously, such as bags made of cloth.
The member of the joint committees of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate explained that plastic materials include seven types in general. The plastic that is circulated in the markets is suspected to be made of recycled materials, including nylon bags used in ovens, bakeries and restaurants.
“When hot food is placed in them, harmful chemicals are produced that are transferred to the food. These materials are not digested and cause health problems in the long term.”
Khalil pointed out that the Governorate decided on this basis to ban the use of nylon bags and replace them with paper bags.
This material was produced within the program to expand the role of women in covering environmental issues, implemented by (KirkukNow) with the support and funding of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.
