Milestone for the Environment

In seven years, the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund has allocated a total of two billion NOK to projects and initiatives that combat plastic littering, reduce the use of plastic bags, and contribute to circular solutions. The funds come from the fee on plastic bags sold in member retailers – an alternative to a government levy, established in response to the EU's plastic bag directive.

– We are incredibly proud of what the fund has achieved with such a small administration in such a short time. The Swedes have had a higher bag price than us for many years, but have no environmental measures to show as a result of the government levy. It is our voluntary members who deserve the credit for the fund's existence, and fortunately, we have the financing in place to continue working on, among other things, removing plastic from Norwegian beaches, nature, and local environments in the future, says Cecilie Lind, CEO of the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund.

                                                 See more key figures here

Some of the world's most ambitious cleanup projects

Through Cleanup Norway in Time, the world's largest professional cleanup program, fully funded by the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, 47 percent of Norway's outer coastline has been cleared of marine litter. Cleanup Norway in Time has made it possible for hundreds of coastal cleaners across the country to do the job needed for a cleaner coast. Thanks to their efforts, over 4100 tonnes of waste have been removed from Norwegian beaches and coastal areas - and managed in a responsible manner.

In addition, funds from the plastic bag fee have enabled the removal of over 11,000 boat wrecks that would otherwise have been crushed into microplastics, and the retrieval of over 30,000 ghost nets from the seabed - an important measure to restore the shellfish population along the Norwegian coast. Not least, the fund's measures have led to a reduction in plastic bag consumption in Norway by over 50 percent, bringing Norway closer to the EU requirement of 40 bags per inhabitant.

More sports - less plastic

The plastic bag fee has also contributed to the The Community Plastics cleanup, which has engaged over 58,000 children and youth to clean up their local area so far. The Community Plastics cleanup allows children and youth to clean up waste instead of selling fundraising items, benefiting both the environment and activity programs. 

Watch the film from this year's first Community Plastics cleanup in Trondheim:

Norwegian artificial turf pitches have also received an important environmental boost. In collaboration with the Norwegian Football Association, the fund has contributed to reducing rubber granulate emissions from 223 artificial turf pitches by 95 percent - a significant effort against Norway's largest source of microplastics in nature. 

A Norwegian plastic revolution

Through small and large businesses, the plastic bag fee has stimulated the development of groundbreaking solutions with positive effects for both the environment and consumers.

A good example is ReMadrass, which, with support from the fund, has progressed significantly in realizing its ambitious project to establish a national system for the reuse and recycling of mattresses. The concept is entirely new to the Nordic market and represents an important step towards a more circular economy in Norway, where it is estimated that 700,000 mattresses end up in incineration each year. ReMadrass collaborates with IKEA, among others, allowing mattresses returned under their comfort guarantee to be sent to ReMadrass' factory in Jevnaker, where they undergo thorough cleaning before being sold in IKEA's reuse store at a reduced price. 

– It was completely natural for us to approach the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund for this project. Because of them, we have been able to establish our factory, says Lennert Hug, founder of ReMadrass.

Watch the film from ReMadrass here:

Another Norwegian company that has achieved groundbreaking results with support from the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund is KAOS. Co-founder Gineline Kalleberg states that the funding from the fund was crucial to realizing their ambitious goal: to develop the world's first circular children's chair, made from 100 percent recycled plastic - a project that many experts initially thought was impossible. The result, KAOS ReKlapp, has been on the market since 2024, won several awards, and created sustainable ripple effects within the plastics industry.

Watch the film from KAOS here:

Scalable solutions with global potential

Through thousands of projects, the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund has contributed to environmental solutions that are both measurable and have the potential to be scaled across industries and borders. For instance, Tomra's pilot project on deposit schemes for take-away packaging has been considered as a possible solution for coffee cups in Oslo. Additionally, funds from the plastic bag fee have gone towards technology in Norway's new national sorting plant for plastics - aiming to further increase plastic recycling in Norway.

Going forward, the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund will continue to manage every penny of the plastic bag fee with the goal of creating real and long-lasting environmental results.