About 495 million plastic bags were bought by customers in 2020, a 75% decrease compared to the 1,754,000,000 bags used in 2016.
While the number of bags acquired dropped to 378,000,000 in 2017, the first year in which the law was in place, the number of bags acquired each year has grown since then, rising by 9% in 2020 compared to 2019.
The ministry stated that it believed the rise in 2020 was due to changes in behavior sparked by the coronavirus outbreak, as the amount of food purchased rose and single use products were used more due to sanitation concerns.
The number of supermarket branches has also grown in recent years, which also may have contributed to the rise in the number of plastic bags used. Israel's population has also grown by 8.5% since 2017.
Israelis who wish to receive plastic bags at grocery stores must pay a 10-agorot fee for each bag acquired. The Plastic Bag Law took effect at the beginning of 2017.
The law requires supermarkets to keep a record of how many bags were purchased and to report the numbers each quarter.
The report stressed that there was a gap found between the number of bags purchased by retailers and the number of bags sold to customers, adding that this may be due to bags being given to customers for free in violation of the law. The retailers claim that the gap is due to inventory movements, self-use of bags in the branches and depreciation or wear and tear.
"The Environmental Protection Ministry will continue with information and enforcement activities in order to maintain a low level of consumption of disposable bags. We conduct checks on major retailers, importers and warehouses and will not agree to any violation of the Bags Law," said the ministry.
The report comes shortly after a new plan was promoted by Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg to reduce the use of disposable utensils in Israel by 40%.
In the last decade, the rate of consumption of disposable utensils in Israel has doubled, their ministries said in a joint press release. Under the new framework, a purchase tax will be imposed on local imports and production based on the weight of the products.
The annual household consumption of disposable plastic products is about 7.5 kg. per capita, five times more than in the European Union, the ministries said. Israeli households spend about NIS 1.3 billion on disposable utensils.
The decision is based on a study by the Environmental Protection Ministry that found doubling the price to the consumer would reduce usage by about 40%. The exact amount of the tax will be determined later, while examining a variety of considerations of the Israel Tax Authority.Zev Stub contributed to this report.