Swedish government wants to go beyond EU single-use plastics ban
Following the European Parliament’s vote to ban single-use plastic items such as cutlery and straws, the Swedish government says it wants go further, by looking into banning items such as plastic cups and food containers.
Isabella Lövin, the Minister for the Environment, tells Swedish Radio News that the government wants to look into options like requiring vendors pack food in containers brought by customers, and a deposit scheme for plastic items.
If neither of these is feasible, Lövin says replacing plastic with other materials is another option.
Åsa Stenmarck, a plastics and resource expert at IVL, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, says she is cautiously optimistic about the proposal, but adds that thinking about food waste is more important than what you use to eat the food with.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: City council of Iqaluit, Arctic Canada moves to ban single-use plastic bags, CBC News
Finland: Citizens’ initiative prompts Finnish lawmakers to consider microplastics ban, Yle News
Norway: Norwegian cruise company phases out single-use plastics from its Svalbard establishments, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russian Navy sends clean-up team to Arctic trash dump, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Sweden generating growing amounts of plastic waste, Radio Sweden
United States: Industry launches campaign to free oceans from plastic… how serious is it?, Alaska Public Media
