An extended deposit system a better measure than the controversial plastic bag tax

An innovative deposit system for food packaging. It is a better and more comprehensive measure than the controversial plastic bag tax that the Swedish government now wants to reduce or completely remove at the turn of the year. This is the opinion of political scientist Karl Holmberg, who believes that the tax should be kept - and expanded to cover all disposable bags.

Karl Holmberg is a PhD at the Department of Political Science at Lund University.

– I would like to see a tax on all types of disposable bags bought at the till, regardless of what they are made of. Now many people just replace the plastic bag with a paper bag, rather than bringing a reusable bag. Not for everyone, but for quite a few, the behavior has not changed, only the choice of material, says Karl Holmberg, PhD student at the Department of Political Science at Lund University.

According to him, such a tax would be more successful in addressing one-time use. It would probably have a wider effect and contribute to reducing the use of carrier bags bought at the till, and thus material resources in general. Today's tax has also been criticized by some plastic bag producers because bio-based plastic bags, which cause less carbon dioxide emissions in the production phase than fossil-based ones, are also covered. At the same time, Karl Holmberg sees no point in bio-based plastic being used for plastic bags since the bag is used for such a short time, and the goal is to use fewer bags.

Abolishing the tax is problematic

Actually removing the tax can be difficult, says Karl Holmberg. This is because the government must be able to guarantee that the use of plastic bags does not exceed 40 bags per person per year by 2025 in order to comply with the EU directive 2015/720 which aims to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic bags, something that can be difficult without a tax. The alternative is that the government does not comply with the directive, but this risks leading to annual fines for breaching EU legislation. It would be wasted money, says Karl Holmberg, who rather believes that the government will choose to reduce the tax from today's three Swedish kronor to perhaps one or two kronor. But according to him, it sends the wrong signals, as it could be seen as an incentive to increase the use of single-use bags if the price goes down.

– An interesting detail is that apart from the two members of the Sweden Democrats, all Swedish members of the EU Parliament voted yes to the directive in 2014. Even the members who represent the parties that are now in the current government, says Karl Holmberg.

Regardless of what happens with the tax, Karl Holmberg believes that more comprehensive measures are needed; because it's basically a very small effort to tackle the plastic problem. Taxes are also a form of political instrument that divides the electorate, where right-wing voters tend to see taxes as a restriction of the individual's rights or as authorities poking around in details they should not interfere with, while left-wing voters to a greater extent believe that taxes can be something positive. This dividing line also means that the tax risks becoming a bat in the political debate, which has now also happened.

An extended deposit system for food packaging

According to Karl Holmberg, a better measure to deal with single-use plastic is to introduce a greatly expanded deposit system. In 2021, he and his colleagues conducted a SOM survey on Swedes' attitude to the plastic policy. In this opinion poll, the pledge received very high support in all social groups, regardless of gender, geographic residence or party preferences.

An extended deposit system can be based on the consumer, in return for financial compensation, returning plastic packaging to the grocery store, which in turn sends the packaging back to the actor who put it on the market.

– If companies are forced to take care of their own food packaging, it becomes logical for them to see the packaging as a resource that they can do something with. It becomes a factor for them to think a step further in terms of raw materials, design and recycling. In the long run, perhaps they will design their packaging with recycling in mind, or invest in reuse. Swedes are also used to pawning, something that can further promote this type of measure, says Karl Holmberg.

He continues:

– Today's collection system is still too coarse-grained to favor a greater use of recycled plastic because everything gets mixed up, which makes it difficult to sort and do something meaningful with the plastic that comes out of the system. A system where we have a better overview of which packaging comes from whom, and where it ends up, would likely contribute to a faster transition towards more sustainable packaging.

About the plastic bag tax

The tax on plastic carrier bags was introduced on 1 May 2020 and means a three kroner tax on carrier bags and 30 öre for each fruit and vegetable bag. However, bags for permanent use and whose purpose is to be reused are not covered by the tax.

There is an EU directive (2015/720) that EU member states must either have a maximum consumption of 40 single-use plastic bags per person per year by 2025 or have a statutory fee on single-use plastic bags. If Sweden does not live up to the directive, there is a risk of fines for violating EU legislation.

In 2017, before the tax was introduced, the consumption of single-use plastic bags was 83 per person per year. After the tax, in 2021, the annual consumption in Sweden was 14 bags per person, according to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.