The sale or free distribution of single-use plastic shopping bags with a thickness between 15 and 50 microns – millionths of a metre – are to be banned in the north from January 1, its environmental protection department announced on Monday.

According to the department, the move has been made “to combat plastic pollution, which threatens the environment and public health”, while ‘deputy prime minister’ Fikri Ataoglu, whose office oversees the department, warned that “microplastic pollution has reached its highest ever levels both in North Cyprus and worldwide”.

He said that as such, it is “essential to take urgent and effective measures”.

To this end, he said the environmental protection department has “completed the necessary legal regulations on the issue”, with “awareness and information campaigns” now underway to inform the public about the change.

“Our goal is to protect nature by reducing plastic use, prevent the formation of microplastics, and leave a cleaner environment for future generations,” he said.

The move comes after the north had in July 2023 outlawed the provision of single-use plastic products at any point of sale without a fee, while also banning a list of single-use plastics outright.

On the list of items banned in 2023 were plastic earbuds, except for those supplied for medical use, as well as single-use plastic forks, spoons, knives, plates, cups, stirring sticks, straws, balloon stems, and takeaway meal packages made of plastic and polystyrene.

At the time, the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce railed against the plan, warning that authorities may have trouble persuading international chains such as Gloria Jeans and EspressoLab to comply with their regulations.

However, this proved not to be the case regarding international coffee chains, with both Gloria Jeans and EspressoLab swiftly introducing paper straws in the north despite retaining plastic straws in their cafés outside of Cyprus.