Zagreb - By a majority vote (with 75 votes in favour, two abstentions, and 43 votes against), the Parliament adopted the Waste Management Act. When it enters into force, eight days after its publication in the Official Gazette, it will ban the sale of single-use plastic products, including plastic cotton buds, straws, cutlery.
As of 2022, a marketing ban on lightweight plastic carrier bags will be implemented, with the exception of very lightweight plastic carrier bags, and as of 3 July 2024 a marketing ban will apply to products with a plastic lid or stopper.
According to the new law, the state and counties, including the City of Zagreb, will be obliged to draft a waste management plan, an obligation they have not had so far, but local government units have.
The parliament also amended the acts on volunteering, on water, and on the establishment of the Hydrocarbon Agency.
It sent the bill on the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, on renewable energy sources and high-efficiency cogeneration, as well as some others, for a second reading.