Kassarna sprids med vinden, informationen ligger i lä: en studie av informationsflödet vid den svenska implementeringen av EU:s direktiv om plastbärkassar

Sammanfattning: Plastic carrier bags are one of the most frequently littered objects. They tend to accumulate in the oceans, posing a threat to marine organisms and birds which mistake them for food. To tackle this environmental issue, the EU has decided to reduce the consumption of plastic carrier bags through an amending directive. The directive is regulated through the Swedish regulation regarding plastic carrier bags, which states that the annual Swedish consumption of plastic carrier bags must be limited to 90 per person by the year 2019. The current consumption is not known, but will be reported to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency from producers and importers of plastic carrier bags in 2018. To decrease their consumption, Swedish consumers must be informed of the harmful environmental impact caused by their consumption of plastic carrier bags by those providing them, namely shops, supermarkets and so forth. The purpose of the study was to investigate the Swedish implementation of this EU directive. Interviews were conducted with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, a Swedish trade organisation and the purchasing manager of one of the main supermarket chains in Sweden. The interviews were supplemented by an online survey aimed at owners of supermarkets. The results reveal a time deficiency to commence the informing of customers, as the supermarkets are not prepared despite an approaching start date. The results also indicate that should the consumption reports show that more than 90 plastic carrier bags are consumed per person, the Swedes will experience trouble decreasing their consumption in time. Likely, further incentives will be required.