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The Standards Institution of Israel has approved a new Israeli standard, Israel Standard 6049 on multi-use carrier bags, which was initiated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. In the wake of the approval, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan has requested the Minister of Industry and Trade to convert the standard into a formal, obliging standard, thus effectively banning the production, import and marketing of any plastic bag that does not comply with the standard. The standard, which was prepared at the request of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Industry and Trade and was funded by the former, sets specifications for multi-use carrier bags. The main provisions of the standard include: - The standard applies to bags with the following dimensions: 20 cm wide and 35 cm long.
- The standard does not apply to plastic bags that come into direct contact with food.
- The bag must be clearly marked with the name of the producer/importer, the raw material from which the bag is made and the size of the bag.
- The bag must be marked with the words: "for multiple use."
- The durability of the bag must be tested in the laboratory of the Standards Institution.
- The color fastness of the marking on the bag must be tested according to the test method specified in the standard to ensure that the marking will be long-lasting.
Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan expects a positive response from the Industry and Trade Minister on his request to recognize the standard as obligatory. "A binding standard will dramatically reduce the use of plastic bags to an absolute minimum and will mitigate the difficult environmental problems caused by thousands of bags which are dispersed throughout the country, in houses and in landfills," he said. Today, disposable plastic bags are distributed free of charge to everyone and their consumption far exceeds their need. It is estimated that some 5 billion disposal plastic bags are distributed in Israel every year.
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