Plastic
Plastic is a widely used material with a broad range of applications that plays an important role in society. However, its current use is often unsustainable. Since plastic will remain essential for many critical applications in the future, it is vital to rethink how we produce, use, and recycle it in order to contribute to sustainable development.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency works for a sustainable use of plastic. On these pages, you can read more about the advantages and disadvantages of plastic, how the use can be made more sustainable and what impact plastic has on the environment.
Environmental problems associated with plastic are global in nature. Efforts to strengthen regulations and other policy instruments must therefore take place at the global, regional, and national levels. Since 2022, negotiations have been underway for a global plastics agreement. In this process, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency is supporting the Government Offices with expert knowledge.
Plastic in Sweden – from production to recycling
To be able to achieve sustainable plastic use, we must reduce consumption of plastic, reuse more products and recycle more plastic. It requires more knowledge about how the plastic is used and what happens to the plastic waste.
Plastic litter
Plastic is one of the most common sources of littering. When plastic ends up in nature it can cause big problems for animals, people and the environment.
Burning of fossil-based plastic: A threat to climate goals
Plastic production is a source of greenhouse gas emissions; however, a large part of the carbon is contained in the product itself and is emitted during combustion. Most of the plastic we use is incinerated. In order for Sweden to achieve its climate goals, emissions must be reduced.
Bio-based plastic
A bio-based plastic is completely or partially manufactured of renewable raw materials for example wood, corn or sugar beet. Conventional, fossil-based plastic is made from raw oil and natural gas.
Roadmap for the sustainable use of plastics
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s roadmap for the sustainable use of plastics provides an overall picture and a guide for where we are going and what we mean by sustainable use of plastics.
National coordination for plastics
The National Plastics Coordination will facilitate and drive Sweden's transition towards a more sustainable use of plastics.