Procedures and Principles on the Pricing of Plastic Bags

The “Procedures and Principles on the Pricing of Plastic Bags” are a Ministry instrument prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and not published in the Official Gazette; they are published on the Ministry’s website. They rest on Articles 3, 18, 20, 26 and Additional Articles 11 and 13 of Environmental Law No. 2872 and on the Packaging Waste Control Regulation (Article 3). Their aim is environmental protection, resource efficiency and a reduction in plastic bag use (Article 1). This page is based on the text as updated by the Ministerial Approval of 26 December 2024.

Who and which bags do the plastic bag rules cover?

The rules concern the sale and declaration of plastic bags, the collection of the recycling contribution fee, and monitoring, control and inspection. Since 1 January 2019, plastic bags have been sold for a charge at all points of sale, including distance sales; bags may not be given free of charge or included in a promotion or campaign that would allow them to be given free (Article 5(2)–(3)).

Some bags fall outside the scope: bags used for the hygiene of loose foods such as bread, vegetables, fruit and cheese, with a double-layer thickness of 15 microns or less and smaller than 500×350 mm; reusable textile bags; handle-less bags used to sell live aquatic animals and bulb plants; bags at places that only provide a service (for example dry cleaning); cargo bags; bags in duty-free shops; and bags used in pharmacies only to sell medicines, of 15 microns or less and smaller than 200×350 mm (Article 2(2)).

What are the obligations of points of sale and producers?

Points of sale must not give bags free of charge, must show the charge per piece on sales documents, must announce the price where users can see it, must register in the Information System, and must submit a declaration and pay the amount determined (Article 8). They may not sell a bag to a consumer who has not asked for one, and may not prevent consumers from shopping with their own carrying equipment. Supermarket chains must also keep paper bags at the checkouts.

Producers and importers make chargeable bags with barcodes and register in the Information System, entering the number, weight, thickness and size of the bags and to whom they were sold (Articles 7 and 9). Chargeable bags must have a double-layer thickness of at least 40 microns, with a 10 percent tolerance in measuring thickness. Only the eco-slogan and the Zero Waste logo set by the Ministry appear on one surface of the bag; the point of sale’s brand and logo may appear on the other surfaces (Article 5).

How much does a plastic bag cost?

Additional Article 13 of the Environmental Law provides that the charge is set, at not less than 25 kuruş, by a commission formed by the Ministry and is updated every year. Under these procedures, for 2025 all bags cost 50 kuruş per piece including taxes regardless of size and content, and neither a lower nor a higher charge may be applied (Article 10). According to the Ministry’s announcement of 27 December 2025, the charge for 2026 was set by the Approval of 23 December 2025 at TL 1 per piece including taxes; no lower or higher charge may be applied.

What does it mean for destruction and recycling?

The bag charge is also tied to the recycling contribution fee system: points of sale make declarations and payments on plastic bag sales according to the rules of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance (Articles 8(4) and 9). The instrument is based on reducing the annual number of plastic bags used per person to no more than 40 by 31 December 2025 (Article 5(1)). Refund and offsetting do not apply to plastic bags under the Regulation on the Recycling Contribution Fee.

What are the sanctions and what should be checked?

Those who fail to meet the notification and declaration obligation face paragraph (g) of Article 20 of the Law; those who do not pay the contribution, paragraph (z); and those who give bags free of charge or include them in promotions, paragraph (bb). False and misleading declarations are dealt with under Article 26 of the Law (Article 13). Paragraph (bb) of the Law provides for TL 15.16 for each square metre of enclosed sales area (increased annually by revaluation) and TL 3,000 to TL 30,000 for online sellers.

Because the charge is set again each year, points of sale should update their till software and labels at the start of the year and follow the Ministry’s announcement for the current year.