Rural municipalities collect more plastic than the major cities

Since 1 January 2024, municipalities have been responsible for collecting household packaging waste and by the beginning of next year it will be done with kerbside collection. The aim is to make it easier to sort correctly and increase material recycling, which is an important part of the transition to a more circular economy.

– It should be obvious to make use of the resources we already have. Well-functioning recycling is a prerequisite for a circular economy. Today, too little plastic packaging is being collected for Sweden to meet its recycling targets. Each person needs to sort roughly twice as much plastic packaging as they do today, instead of throwing it in the bin bag, says Sofie Rådestad, Head of Municipal Collaboration at Näringslivets Producentansvar.

The report presents households’ access to kerbside collection and how much plastic packaging was collected per resident in 2025. It shows that the variation between municipalities is large – from 3.2 to 30.8 kilograms per resident per year – although most are close to the national average.

– The statistics show that residents in smaller towns and rural areas sort more plastic for recycling than residents in the major cities. Our hope is that the report will contribute to increased dialogue about the measures needed to collect more plastic for recycling. The large differences between municipalities show that there is significant potential, says Sofie Rådestad.

No later than 1 January 2027, all municipalities must have introduced kerbside collection for all households. At the end of 2025, 55 per cent of households in Sweden still lacked access to kerbside collection.

The status of the rollout differs between municipalities. At the turn of the year 2025/2026, 101 municipalities had reached less than 20 per cent rollout, while 67 municipalities had already exceeded 80 per cent.

– Kerbside collection is an important key to increasing recycling, but it is not enough on its own to get all the way there. By learning from the municipalities that have come furthest and achieved the best results, more municipalities can make it easier for residents to sort correctly, in an efficient and appropriate way,’ says Sofie Rådestad.

Download the report (in Swedish)

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FACTS

Collection of plastic packaging 2025

• The national average is 11.6 kg of plastic packaging per resident per year.
• The group smaller towns/urban areas and rural municipalities collects the most – on average 12.7 kg of plastic packaging per resident per year.
• The group major cities and municipalities close to major cities has the lowest average at 9.4 kg. The group larger towns and municipalities close to a larger town has an average of 11.3 kg per resident.

Rollout of kerbside collection 2025

• 19 municipalities reported zero households with kerbside collection in 2025.
• Seven municipalities reported 100 per cent kerbside collection. 120 municipalities reported a rollout rate of between 50–100 per cent, and account for 41 per cent of the country’s municipalities.
• 170 municipalities reported a rollout rate of between 0–49 per cent, corresponding to 59 per cent of the country’s municipalities.

Data sources

The statistics presented in the report come from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and are based on the data municipalities have reported on collected quantities (kilograms) and the rollout of kerbside collection.

To calculate kilograms per resident, we used Statistics Sweden’s population data for 2025.