It has been three years since the seat bag tax was introduced. Now some parties want to remove the tax completely and others want to see a substantial reduction. “We can only hope that our reduction target has led to a change in behaviour,” says Åsa Stenmarck, responsible for national plastic coordination.
The plastic bag tax was introduced in 2020 and was pushed forward by, among others, the Liberals. The tax aimed to reduce the use of plastic bags per person and year. The EU directives that came then state that consumption should be reduced to 40 bags per person per year.
The tax meant an increase from three kroner to around seven kroner. It has had a great effect and already in the first year the consumption was reduced from 50 bags to 14 bags, and then to go up to 17 bags in 2022.
– More people have changed their behavior and buy far fewer plastic bags than they did before the tax was introduced, says Åsa Stenmarck.
The reason why you want to reduce the consumption of plastic bags is because you see problems with littering. Bags are a product that often end up wrong, namely out in nature instead. Today, three years since the tax was introduced, it is still effective, even if plastic bag consumption has gone up a little since the first year.
– But the reduced consumption of plastic bags is not only due to the tax, but also to the fact that people shop more online and then you often get your goods home in paper bags or boxes, says Stenmarck.
“When the tax came, demand exploded”
Despite the reduction in plastic bag consumption, the Tidö parties want to remove the tax or greatly reduce it, and the decision could come as early as after the summer. The criticism against it is, among other things, that the Swedish-made plastic bags that are made of renewable material must stand behind waste bags on rolls that are made of fossil material. But Åsa Stenmarck does not think people are steered in the wrong direction.
– When the tax came, the demand for these bags on a roll exploded and it is still high. The advantage is that those bags are thinner, i.e. less plastic, so that’s good, she says.
She also believes that the Swedish bag manufacturing has changed, so even the plastic bags in thicker plastic are in many cases Swedish-made and from recycled material.
– So you can say that that disadvantage has become smaller now, she says.
How the EU goal would be affected if the plastic bag tax were removed or reduced cannot be said. But the tax, along with other factors, has affected the consumption of plastic bags.
– We can only hope, since we have our reduction target to live up to, that people change their behavior and that they keep it – even if the bag becomes cheaper again, says Åsa Stenmarck.