Norwegians buy four times as many plastic bags as Swedes – NRK Norway – Overview of news from across the country

So far, the many price increases on plastic bags have resulted in far fewer bags being purchased in stores.

In May, the price rose again – and Handelson Melgofund He hoped this would lead to a further decline in usage.

Today, the results show only a slight decrease.

In store

In two of the grocery stores visited by NRK, we met customers who shop online and others who still resort to plastic bags.

Tom Balgard / NRK

My work with the shopping network

Kirsti Volle has her own in-store shopping network.

– I think it's become very practical to have internet. When I pack it up and put it in a little side pocket of my bag. It works really well.

Do you think about the climate and environment when you choose your shopping network?
– Yes. I follow this trend. Nothing more.

Tom Balgard / NRK

Plastic kills animals in nature.

Baby Elise Baguley has her own shopping network and is concerned about the climate.

– I think it's absolutely tragic when I see animals in the sea that are full of plastic, microplastic, and there's plastic in the sea. Just today I saw a picture of a turtle with plastic wrapped around its head.

Tom Balgard / NRK

Forget the shopping network

Ruth Bratsberg has to buy a bag on this shopping trip.

– We try to use some of the bags we have at home, but I keep forgetting them. So we have to buy these carrier bags. They're really unnecessary.

– We have been spoiled by plastic bags for so long that remembering the bag is very long.

Therefore, we are using a little less plastic bags after the price hike in May.

The use of plastic bags has decreased by 6.5 percent since May, according to figures from Handelens miljøfond.

– This decrease is very small, but it is too early to conclude, as it has not been long since the last price increase. Overall, there is still a significant decrease in plastic bags.

This is what Gunstein Enstfjord, Trade Director at the Consumer Council, says.

We still have a way to go, but the decline in one year is significant, says Cecilie Lind, Managing Director of Handelens Miljøfond.

– Compared to June last year, the drop was a whopping 46 percent. This shows that many Norwegians have been good at changing their habits, But we have to go further than we have now.

Shops are in decline

On May 1, the price of plastic bags in stores increased by one kroner, and as of May 1, they cost about NOK 5.5 in the store.

Coop Norge has seen an overall 33 percent decrease in plastic bag sales this year.

The latest price increase in May only led to a slight drop in sales, says Coop Norge communications manager Harald Kristiansen.

Mini saw a 35 percent drop after bag prices went up last year, says Nina Horn-Hein, communications manager. After the latest increase on May 1, they cut plastic bag sales by a total of 40 percent.

– In one year, this corresponds to a decrease in sales of 11 million plastic bags.

Kiwi has seen its overall sales fall by 40 per cent so far this year, with the drop after a price increase in May now just over 7 per cent.

Worse than neighboring countries

We still buy far more plastic bags when we shop at the store than our neighbors in Sweden and Denmark do.

Although Denmark and Sweden have both achieved the EU target of each citizen buying 40 plastic bags per year, we still have a long way to go.

The Swedes bought accordingly. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 17 plastic bags Per capita last year.

Danes bought 30 bags per inhabitant in 2022.

In Norway, we use more than four times that. There are several reasons for this, says Lind.

– In Sweden, paper bags have long been used instead. In Denmark, bags have been too expensive for many years, so people there got rid of plastic bags many years ago.

According to the latest figures from Handelen's Environmental Fund, each of us buys around 75 plastic bags a year. Last year we bought 103 bags each year.

a report doing it Sevo to Handelson Environmental Fund He explains that people now think that plastic bags are expensive and that most people have a shopping network at home. But in reality there are still many people who do not use the Internet as they say.

Must be used 8 times

According to Handelens Miljøfond, we will save the environment more than 4,800 tons of plastic if we reach the EU target of 40 plastic bags per person, says Cecilie Lind.

– Plastic bags are an example of how small measures in each of our daily lives can make a real difference.

Other uses for plastic are more difficult to cut down or replace with other materials, she says, but plastic bags can easily be replaced with shopping nets.

There has been much discussion about the climate and environmental suitability of replacing plastic bags. Commissioned by Handelens, the Miljøfond was investigated. Norsus F(Aurholds in Norway).

– New data based on Norwegian conditions shows that the most environmentally friendly alternative is to use a shopping net made of polyester or nylon.

Most environmentally friendly according to Norsus To use our available shopping nets and throw away your rubbish in the thin plastic waste bags.

Based on self-reports, only four percent said they did not. Shopping network.

Price jumps help

In Germany, Sweden and Denmark, consumption fell in line with increased taxes on bags.

Until recently, the reduction in Norway was not proven to be closely related to prices, which could be explained by strong purchasing power and a price level that was not high enough.

This is shown in the report published by SIFO in June.

– The price increase was a major measure to reduce plastic bag consumption in Norway.

Lind says they currently have no plans to further increase plastic bag prices.