After four years of taxation, the Swedish government says stop. The government announced on Wednesday that it wanted to eliminate, from November 2024, the tax on plastic bags introduced in 2020, raising concerns about its environmental policy. “We are convinced that Swedes use plastic bags wisely in their daily lives and that there is no reason why they should be more expensive,” said the Minister of Climate and Environment, Romina Pourmokhtari.
This tax of three crowns (25 euro cents) per checkout bag was introduced in 2020 to achieve the European Union’s consumption target of 40 bags per person maximum in 2025. In 2022, Swedes bought 17 bags plastics per person per year, compared to 74 in 2019, the year before the tax was introduced, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
An increase in plastic waste in nature?
This decision to remove the tax on bags comes a week after the announcement of the Swedish government’s desire to reduce taxes on gasoline and diesel, criticized by opposition parties.
“The tax is considered to have certain negative effects, such as administrative costs, and may also lead to an increase in the consumption of alternatives,” said the Swedish executive in a press release. These alternatives include paper bags or purchasing trash bags. The EPA and the Swedish Water and Marine Agency have warned against such a measure, saying it would lead to an increase in plastic waste in nature.