From over 10 million plastic bags sold in stores, more than €300,000 has been collected in eco fees for the state budget from October to the end of February, according to the Agency for Environmental Protection.
The Agency also highlighted that the use of plastic bags has decreased, a trend confirmed by the Podgorica-based company Deponija. Environmental activist Vuk Vujisić agrees, but believes that, for the sake of environmental preservation and reducing microplastics in nature, plastic bags should have been completely banned.
The Waste Management Law has been in effect for five months, under which retailers are required to pay an eco fee for plastic bags thicker than 50 microns. From October 1 to February 27, the Agency processed 475 reports and confirmed the sale of over 10 million plastic bags. The financial impact of the law’s application was shared by Aleksandra Lazović from the Agency.
“From October 1 to December 31 of last year, we received and processed 194 reports. During this period, 3,726,000 bags were sold. This year, from January 1 to February 27, we processed 281 reports, during which 6,280,000 bags were sold. In total, for the five months, over 10 million plastic bags have been sold. The total eco fee paid into the state budget from October 1, 2024, to February 27, 2025, is €301,279,” said Lazović.
The money is forwarded to the Eco Fund and is exclusively used to finance projects raising public awareness about the environmental harm caused by plastic bags.
“According to our data, the use of plastic bags is decreasing, but we believe that, like everything else here, it will take some time to raise public awareness of the environmental harm caused by plastic bags,” Lazović added.
Podgorica’s Deponija also reported a noticeable decrease in the amount of plastic bags since the Waste Management Law was implemented. A morphological waste analysis conducted in December showed that plastic bags comprised 2.62% of total waste, compared to nearly 8% in the same period the previous year. A new analysis is planned for the spring.
Environmental activist Vuk Vujisić agrees that limiting the use of plastic bags has had an effect, despite initial opposition. “I think it would have been even more effective if we had followed the example of European Union countries, where plastic bags are much more expensive, and some have completely banned their use. Only reusable bags are used. I believe that citizens have changed their habits, and even when they buy a bag, they use it more times because it is thicker and more durable. However, I believe a complete ban should have been implemented, as it is crucial to use materials that can be reused. This would reduce environmental pollution and eliminate the potential source of microplastics,” Vujisić said for Radio Montenegro.
The application of the Waste Management Law is controlled by the Market Inspectorate, which checks whether retailers are in compliance with the law’s provisions. Over the five months, inspectors issued eight fines totaling €8,000.
