The price of plastic bags is increasing again – E24

Now you can end up paying around NOK 5.5 for one bag in the store.

The case is updated.

Handelens Miljøfond has decided to increase the membership fee by NOK 1, which may cause the price to increase by NOK 1.25 in stores, writes NRK.

The change applies from 1 May. It is up to the shops, even if they want to increase the price corresponding to the increase in the quota.

– We saw that plastic bag sales went up by 40 per cent compared to the autumn of the previous year. At the same time, sales of waste bags and shopping nets increased, but after Christmas we see that the statistics have leveled off, says general manager of Handelens Miljøfond, Cecilie Lind to the channel.

Last summer, Handelens miljøfond increased the amount so that the retail price in shops ended up being around NOK 4.25.

The environmental fund aims to reduce the use of plastic bags to 40 per inhabitant within a year, by 2025. Today, use is around 80 plastic bags, writes NRK.

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– Many things are already expensive for people. Is this the right time to increase the quota?

– It is the case that the alternative to plastic bags is cheaper than the plastic bags. We think that people have good and cheaper alternatives to using plastic bags. If you think it’s expensive, it pays to use online shopping, says Lind to E24.

– How sure are you of the environmental benefits of choosing a shopping network?

– We have counted on this. There are quite a few myths related to online shopping and the environment. The calculations we have done show that you only need to use the new shopping nets made of polyester and nylon 6-7 times before breaking the plastic bag.

– Is there a limit to how expensive plastic bags can be?

– We believe that we will succeed in reversing consumption now. We have a requirement to get down to 40 bags per inhabitant next year, but if people are good at changing their habits, we have no desire to increase the quota any more, she says.