Plastic
Plastic is an important and common material in our everyday lives. Plastic has many functions that help solve a number of problems and needs in society. But the way we use plastic today is in many cases not sustainable.
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.
The environmental problems with plastics are of a global nature and therefore our goal is to strengthen regulations and other instruments at global, regional and national level.
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.
