Turkey bans free plastic shop bags

ANKARA, Turkey - A hotly debated regulation that has divided Turkish society was put into effect on Jan 1 - a ban on free plastic bags.

The ban is part of a government initiative to reduce pollution. According to the new rules, plastic bags are prohibited from being given to consumers free of charge except for small plastic bags to protect food sold openly.

The stores have to charge 0.25 Turkish liras ($0.4) for a single-use plastic bag or offer bags which are partially made from recycled materials. Providing free plastic bags will result in fined equivalent to 10 lira per square meter of the stores' property.