Promotion of packaging-free shopping
A recent national law, no. 141/2019, which modifies and supplements Decree no. 111/2019 (the “National Climate Act”) introduced two fundamental measures related to the reuse of plastic and packaging in general:
- The introduction of an incentive for small, medium and large shops to provide “packaging-free areas”.
- The “right to bring your own container”. Customers are now allowed to use their own reusable containers for fresh products such as dairy products, ham and meat cuts, fish, etc. BYO practices had previously been essentially banned due to hygiene concerns. As a safety measure, the new law stipulates that the container must be clean and have no detectable odour. The seller, or its employees, may refuse to place products in the container if they consider it not fit for purpose, e.g. if it is broken, without a lid etc.