Plastic Bag Use Witnessed Drastic Decline in Germany

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest statistics released by the Society for Packaging Market Research indicates drastic fall in use of plastic bags in Germany.

The total consumption of plastic bags in the country dropped to around 2 billion in 2018. This is hardly around 50% of the total consumption in 2016. The average per person plastic bag usage in the country was 24 in 2018, lower from 29 during the year prior to that. This translates to 20% dip in year-on-year average consumption. It must be noted that per person average consumption has reduced to almost half when compared with the average consumption of 45 bags per person in 2016.

The country has achieved this without having legislation in place. The reduction in plastic bag use is the result of a deal reached between the federal government and the country’s retailers by which retailers were encouraged to voluntarily reduce consumption of plastic bags. Consequently, around 350 retailers across the country now imposes fee on plastic bags distributed to customers. The imposition of fee has encouraged customers to bring reusable bags for shopping, thereby leading to significant reduction in plastic bag usage.

Meantime, Svenja Schulze, the Federal Environment Minister announced new initiatives to further reduce plastic consumption in the country. In a bid to reduce the use of plastic packaging on food products, she has urged supermarkets to eliminate the thin plastics used for covering fruits and vegetables and instead use alternatives such as laser labeling and reusable nets.