Litter damages animals and nature, makes cities unsafe and costs society a lot of money, completely unnecessarily. The national garbage measurement that Håll Sverige Rent did in city centers and parks in 2023 shows that 9 out of 10 garbage is disposable products. 66 percent of the litter is plastic and the most common category within plastic is cigarette butts, followed by soft wrappers for food, such as packaging for sweets, ice cream and snacks, as well as plastic-coated paper such as hamburger paper and wrapping paper.
During a litter pick-up day recently organized by Håll Sverige Rent, 240 tons of litter were picked up from streets and squares around the country – and that in a single day.
– By thinking about littering already when a package is being designed, many of these litterings could be prevented. For example, loose corks that have long been a littering problem in nature and the sea, but where the risk of littering is now minimized by the cork being stuck in its packaging, says Johanna Ragnartz, CEO of Håll Sverige Rent.
Design against litter
Håll Sverige Rent and Näringslivets Producentansvar are now launching a design guide against littering. Here, producers and packaging developers find tips and advice to reduce the risk of all or parts of the packaging becoming rubbish.
– We hope that the guide will be a good support for our producers to avoid packaging that contributes to littering, for example in the form of loose parts, and to design packaging with littering in mind. It is a supplement to our recycling design manuals. Together, they increase the possibilities for the entire packaging to be able to be material recycled, provided it is source sorted in the right way, says Henrik Nilsson, head of Business Development and Community Contacts at Näringslivets Producentansvar.
Everyone needs to take responsibility
Several different actors are responsible for a litter-free Sweden. Sweden’s municipalities are responsible for cleaning and keeping streets and squares clean. Producers are responsible for their packaging according to the “polluter pays” principle. From 1 January 2024, producers of single-use plastic products must also pay for the municipality’s clean-up costs. How much and with what fee is determined by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
Consumers also have a responsibility, partly by sorting their packaging and not littering. For example, throwing an ice cream wrapper on the street can lead to a littering fine of SEK 800.
Även konsumenter har ett ansvar, dels genom att källsortera sina förpackningar och genom att inte skräpa ner. Att exempelvis kasta ett glasspapper på gatan kan leda till en skräpbot på 800 kronor.
Littering fees for certain producers (Swedish EPA)
National litter-measurement 2023, Håll Sverige Rent