Measures for a more sustainable and circular economy

Today, Sweden misses several targets – both national targets within the environmental target system and global targets within Agenda 2030 and some of the EU’s collection and material recycling targets. Production and consumption are far from environmentally sustainable and our lifestyle and consumption patterns need to change in order for the environmental and health impact to be reduced to more sustainable levels.

The measures in the national waste plan and the waste prevention program aim for Sweden to achieve a more sustainable circular economy and sustainable consumption, contribute to increased material recycling and safer disposal of waste. The proposed measures are voluntary and target all parts of the value chains from design and production to use and waste management and involve many different actors.

Measures relating to packaging and packaging waste

Näringslivets Producentansvar supports all measures relating to packaging and packaging waste, even though we note that several points in the list of measures do not entail any new commitments. This applies, for example, to the obligation for consumers, municipal operations and private actors to sort and return packaging for recycling.

Measures for the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

It is particularly welcome that a commitment for the Environmental Protection Agency is to guide existing and future legislation – there will be a great need and demand for this, not least from the producer side, with the implementation of the EU legislation PPWR.

The authority must also plan and implement risk-based supervision to check compliance with provisions relating to the extended producer responsibilities. We look forward to more active supervisory work that counteracts the free-riding problem that exists in the producer ranks today.

Measures for municipalities

One measure that is incumbent on the municipalities is to inform households about the importance of sorting out their packaging. Together with the introduction of near-property collection of packaging, it provides better conditions for increased sorting by households.

Measures for producers

It is positive that the measures emphasize the importance of producers designing for reuse and material recycling and that the use of recycled raw materials should be promoted. Anti-litter design is also taken up as a measure. Näringslivets Producentansvar has produced a design guide against littering together with Håll Sverige Rent.

You can find the guide here

Measures for private actors

It is also clear that private actors must sort out packaging from other waste and leave it for recycling. Here, NPA is continuously expanding collection points throughout the country where businesses can drop off their packaging waste free of charge.

All collection point locations are listed here 

It is also incumbent on the private actors to

• promote technology development for sorting and material recycling,
• to increase the capacity for material recycling through investments in washing and granulation as well as
• to develop new sorting technology to reduce the amount of packaging that goes to incineration.

Näringslivets Producentansvar is happy to participate in the dialogue regarding the above points – please contact us if you have thoughts and ideas or are interested in joining networks or collaborations.

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All measures are listed on the Swedish EPA’s website (in Swedish only)