The surcharge on single use plastic shopping bags (PSBs) which aims to curb the indiscriminate use of plastic has been raised to ₺1.

The TRNC cabinet on Thursday announced that it was increasing the obligatory surcharge on plastic shopping bags (PBSs) to ₺1.

The move introduced several years ago targeting retail outlets mostly being supermarkets, convenience stores and medicare aimed to curb the indiscriminate use of PBSs which are hazardous for the environment.

The previous charge was ₺0.25

According to the decision published in the Official Gazette the surcharge on all single-use plastic bags 15-50μm (microns) thick will come into force as of Monday, June 5.

A decision adopted earlier this year by the Council of Ministers to ban the use of single-use plastics as of June 1, 2023 has been postponed to a future date.