Starting today, supermarkets will charge 15 denars for each plastic bag – an item that used to cost about 2 denars.

The steep fee was introduced by the Environment Ministry, in an attempt to reduce the use of plastic bags. Citizens are urged to bring reusable cloth bags. The Ministry evoked the period in Communism when plastic bags were a luxury, and asked shoppers to go back to this practice.

Many social media users reported trying to bulk purchase plastic bags in supermarkets yesterday, only to be denied by the stores.