More actions needed to reach target for plastic bag reduction

The use of plastic carrier bags increased since 2020 and further actions are needed to reach the reduction targets by 2025, said the Ministry of the Environment and the Finnish Commerce Federation in a joint press release on Friday.

Earlier, the Green Deal agreement between the Ministry and the Federation has reduced the use of plastic carrier bags and thin plastic bags quite rapidly.

In 2022 the number of plastic carrier bags covered by the agreement used per person was about 56. In Finland about 3,600 sales outlets of grocery and specialty goods stores are committed to the objectives of the plastic carrier bag agreement, including that by the end of 2025 the Finnish consumers will use no more than 40 plastic carrier bags per year.

According to the mid-term evaluation by the Finnish Environment Institute, commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment, the consumption of plastic carrier bags decreased until 2020 but there has again been some growth after that.

The use of thin plastic bags for fruit and vegetables decreased by about 38% between 2017 and 2022. During the same time the use of traditional larger plastic carrier bags fell by only 9%. Overall, the consumption has been decreasing since 2017.

In the first years of the plastic carrier bag agreement, the Ministry, Federation and companies that joined the agreement ran a communication campaign ‘Bring Your Own Bag’, which aimed to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags and littering and to increase awareness of sustainable consumption.

The discussion on plastics and the campaigns have changed the consumer behaviour, but a lot work is still needed to reach the reduction targets set for the consumption of plastic carrier bags.

“Reducing the use of plastic carrier bags is an easy and concrete way to reduce the use of plastics in one’s own daily life. The plastic carrier bag agreement is an important part of the EU and international effort aimed to reduce the harm caused by plastics,” said Salla Koivusalo, Senior Specialist of the Ministry of the Environment.

“The decrease in the use of plastic carrier bags made good progress until 2020, but the COVID pandemic changed consumer behaviour. Companies in the retail sector aim to reach the target of 40 bags per consumer set in the EU Directive. Of course, it is a great challenge to reduce the consumption by 15 bags per person form the present in just a couple of years,” said Marja Ola, Chief Specialist at the Finnish Commerce Federation.

The targets set in the agreement will be maintained and measures to reach them have been planned. Customer communication concerning the consumption of plastic bags will be further strengthened in 2024–2025.

Other measures to reduce the consumption are also being planned and the companies will tell more about them in due course.

According to the mid-term evaluation by the Finnish Environment Institute, charging a price for plastic carrier bags and their pricing have been the most effective means to reduce the consumption.

To reach the reduction targets, more information on consumer behaviour and concrete actions through which consumers are encouraged to change their behaviour will be needed.

“The target can be reached in close cooperation with customers. We encourage a permanent transition towards using reusable carrier bags for groceries, instead of single-use bags. This is something we can all do in our everyday lives,” Ola added.

The agreement on plastic carrier bags between the Ministry of the Environment and the Finnish Commerce Federation was concluded in 2016 and it will remain in force until the end of 2025.