Developing the Market for Recycled Plastics The vision of a circular plastics system and a pollution free environment will require extensive collaboration, innovation, system changes and significant financing to fulfil. Thor Kamfjord
thor.kamfjord@norner.no
Jørgen Nyhus
jorgen.nyhus@norner.no
New legislations, regulations and directives will come into force and change the current “take-make-usedispose” economy into a net-zero and circular economy.
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One of these measures is the EU Plastic Bags Directive, which states that countries should either introduce a national reduction target for lightweight plastic carrier bags, or ensure that these bags are not provided free of charge at the point of sale of goods or products. As the plastic carrier bags serves as an important part of the waste management system in Norway, it was opted for the latter. To provide a solution, the largest actors in the Norwegian grocery, retail and trade sectors, established the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund – Handelens Miljøfond (HMF), to ensure that from every plastic bag sold, approx. 5 € cents (50 øre) is collected in a fund and earmarked to reduce the environmental issues due to plastics. The fund, being privately owned, is not bound by bureaucracy
or public rules and regulations and is able to turn around quickly in urgent matters, and to take risks in order to achieve desired environmental results. The fund finances both national and international initiatives aimed at reducing and preventing plastic pollution e.g. through clean-up projects and support for technology and innovation. The fund’s stated goals are threefold: 1) Prevent and clean up plastic pollution, not least in relation to marine littering 2) Reduce the use of plastic carrier bags 3) Increase resource efficiency by supporting measures to increase plastic recycling. Since 2018, the fund has awarded more than 40 M€ to a variety of 400 projects, covering clean-ups, closing knowledge gaps and technology development, which can accelerate the transition to a circular plastics economy.
