Russia may completely ban the use of plastic bags by 2025.
Beaches that look like landfill (свалка мусора) sites. Fish stuck in a net of debris (мусор). Birds feeding polystyrene (пенопласт) to their young. This is the bleak (жестокий, мрачный) reality of where our plastics end up. While plastic bags are public enemy number one in the West, their reputation in Eastern Europe just might surprise you. During the USSR, plastic bags were never garbage: they were a luxury. Plastic bags are now deeply uncool (неприятный), rightfully considered something shameful. But there are still people who keep and reuse plastic bags.
