The cost of a plastic bag at the grocery store in Norway jumped last year to NOK 4.25 but is now set to rise again. The bag fee is aimed at further reducing their use.
The retailers’ own environmental fund (Handelens Miljøfond) doesn’t think plastic bag consumption has declined enough. Now a punitive fee of as much as NOK 6 (around USD 0.60, 60 cents) may make shoppers think twice.
“We saw how plastic bag consumption declined by 40 percent last fall, compared to the year before,” Cecilie Lind, who runs the fund, told NRK. “At the same time the sale of garbage bags and (reusable) shopping bags increased, but since Christmas, the statistics have flattened out.”
The cost of a bag will thus rise again on May 1 by NOK 1.25, putting it at NOK 5.50. Since Norway no longer has any coins worth less than one krone in circulation, a bag will end up costing NOK 6 for those paying cash.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
