The retail sector will cut 100 million plastic carrier bags

Plastic litter is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time. A recent survey conducted by the research agency Ipsos for the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund shows that half of the Norwegian population believes that reusing plastic carrier bags is among the most useful measures to reduce plastic consumption. Therefore, the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund is launching a large-scale campaign today to make it easier for people to use plastic carrier bags multiple times. The campaign "Pocket Bag" humorously, yet simply, demonstrates how you can fold a plastic carrier bag into a small triangle that fits into any pocket.

— It may seem trivial, but we know that forgetfulness and poor planning are among the main reasons people do not take plastic carrier bags from home when they go shopping. If everyone learns the simple folding technique and carries one of these in their pocket, we can avoid this problem and save the environment from a lot of plastic, says CEO of the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, Rasmus Hansson.

We can do more

The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund is the industry’s collective major environmental initiative, working to reduce plastic litter, increase plastic recycling, and decrease the use of plastic carrier bags. The retail sector, through the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, has committed to reducing the consumption of plastic carrier bags by 20 percent by the end of 2020.

— Norwegian consumers are increasingly aware of what they can do to contribute positively to environmental issues. Among other things, we see that the consumption of plastic carrier bags has decreased in recent years. However, more than 700 million plastic carrier bags are still sold annually, and therefore the industry agrees that more must be done to further reduce the number, Hansson continues.

Small percentage of plastic carrier bags in nature

A report done by the consultancy firm Mepex for Grønt Punkt Norge in 2016 shows that approximately 80 percent of plastic carrier bags end up in residual waste, primarily for packaging residual waste, while about 14 percent lie loose in residual waste. It is estimated that less than one percent of plastic carrier bags end up in nature. Assuming one percent, that means around 7 million plastic carrier bags end up in nature. Therefore, Hansson believes the campaign being launched now is important.

— We need plastic carrier bags, among other things for waste management. And plastic carrier bags are not the biggest environmental problem we have. But an initiative and a campaign like this remind us that parts of the plastic problem can be easily addressed. Therefore, the "Pocket Bag" is an important reminder, and a simple measure everyone should support, concludes Hansson.