– Bag? – No thanks! The answer comes clearly and unambiguously from Ola Simon Røyksund. He has bought some bread, milk and cold cuts at Rema 1000 in Bergen. He pulls a green shopping net from his pocket. – I started taking shopping nets with me when bags became so expensive this summer, he says. The counties think it is good that the bags became more expensive, as it has led to change. If it becomes even more expensive, he doesn’t have much of a say. Photo: Synne Sørenes / news For 1 August this year, the prices of plastic bags increased in most shops in Norway. Customers had to fork out NOK 4 or more for a bag. According to the plan, the price was to rise by a further krone in January. But now the price increase has been put on hold. Precisely because several people have done like Røyksund. – Norwegian consumers are changing their habits at record speed, says Cecilie Lind, head of Handelens Miljøfond. Photo: Handelens miljøfond Consumption down 40% In 2022, Norwegians bought 722 million plastic bags. There are 132 bags per person. Since 1 August, and the price increase, plastic bag consumption has decreased by 40%. – The latest figures show that we have reduced our consumption by almost 60 million bags compared to the same period last year, says Lind. Handelens miljøfond The funds for the fund come from the members who pay a contingent fee per plastic carrier bag they buy or sell in Norway. Around 80 chains and shops with close to 11,000 points of sale pay the quota. The aim is to reduce the amount of plastic carrier bags, prevent and remove plastic litter and contribute to reduced plastic use and a circular plastic economy. The fund was established in 2017 as an alternative to a government tax in connection with a plastic carrier bag directive from the EU. Handelens miljøfond writes on its website that it has distributed more than NOK 600 million to over 500 environmental projects. Between them, they have cleared 6,000 km of the coast for 4,000 tonnes of waste. Source: Miljofond.no Now they want to let the measure work even longer, before they raise the prices again. – We don’t want to push too hard and too fast. Then I run the risk that someone will use disposable solutions such as paper bags or other shortcuts, says Lind. She adds that the plan is to increase the price by one kroner sometime before the summer. Have you bought fewer plastic bags since the price increase? Enormous increase in the purchase of reusable nets news has spoken to the largest food chains in the country about their customers’ plastic bag habits. Simen Kjønnås Thorsen in Coop Noreg says they saw a change already in the first week after they increased the prices. – The goal is not to make it more expensive for customers, but to change shopping habits. Now I see that the customers have changed at record speed, he says. They have sold 34 per cent fewer plastic bags since 1 August. Fewer plastic bags have been sold in Norwegian shops in the past six months. Photo: Synne Sørenes / news In addition, sales on recycling networks have increased by 390 per cent. Norgesgruppen and Rema 1000 have also noticed the decrease in the sale of plastic bags. Kine Søyland in the Norgesgruppen says, nevertheless, that she is happy that the price will not increase again any time soon. – The customers have adapted more quickly than expected, but it is also important that the new habits are allowed to settle properly before more measures are taken. Several have brought their own shopping nets to the store after the price increase in August. Photo: Synne Sørenes / news Fewer than 40 within 25 The aim of the Trade Environmental Fund is that each of us should use fewer than 40 plastic bags a year by 2025. That is why they continued with action campaigns in collaboration with the shops. “We’re well on our way, but we’re not there yet. So we’re following the development closely and getting the quota in place,” says Cecilie Lind. Dalsøren and Bergstøen say they don’t always remember to bring their own bag, but think it’s good that so many people drop plastic bags. Photo: Synne Sørenes At the store in Bergen, I also meet my friends Nikolai Dalsøren and Markus Bergstøen. They dropped the bag this time and stand with today’s find in their hands. – I still buy bags from time to time, but my parents have become much better at bringing nets and the like. It is very good for the environment, says Dalsøren. – How expensive does it have to be for you to stop using bags altogether? – So, if it costs NOK 10 for a plastic bag, it is in any case out of the question, he says. Talk about plastic bags According to Handelens miljøfond, plastic bag consumption in Norway contributes to: an annual CO2 emission of 59,240 tonnes to the fact that we throw away 14,048 tonnes of plastic each year, approximately 6 percent of all packaging consumption annually
ttn-69
– People change their habits much faster than expected – news Vestland
