Plastic bag use declines sharply in Switzerland

Shoppers are taking home fewer plastic bags than ten years ago. Keystone-SDA

There has been a sharp decline in the consumption of single-use disposable plastic bags and reusable plastic bags in the Swiss retail sector.

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A total of 417,781,000 single-use plastic bags were distributed in 2016 in Switzerland; this figure fell to 51,121,067 last year, a drop of 88%, according to the Swiss Retail Federation on Monday.

Meanwhile, between 2020 and 2024, the consumption of reusable plastic bags fell from 48,846,092 to 16,214,871 units, a drop of 65%.

This reduction is due in particular to two agreements signed in 2016 and 2019 between the Retail Community of Interest (CI) and the Swiss Retail Federation. The aim was to reduce the consumption of single-use disposable plastic bags from 70% to 80% by the end of 2025, and the consumption of reusable plastic bags by 35%.

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These targets were easily met. Since then, plastic bag consumption has stabilised at a low level. The industry’s umbrella organisation notes that the efforts to raise awareness and mobilise consumers have clearly paid off.

Monitoring abolished

The obligation to charge for the distribution of plastic bags remains unchanged, the industry association says. This measure guarantees the continuity of the values achieved. Some retailers, such as Aldi, C&A, Hornbach, Loeb, Lidl and Tchibo, are going even further and are no longer distributing plastic bags, even for a fee.

In view of this “resounding and lasting” success, however, the annual monitoring of values has become superfluous and will be abolished, according to the Swiss Retail Federation. The aim is to reduce the administrative burden on the federation and its member companies.

At the beginning of June, several media outlets reported that the Swiss Retail Federation was considering scrapping the requirement to pay for plastic bags. “The reintroduction of free bags, a rumour that has recently been wrongly spread by certain media, has never been envisaged,” the organisation says.

Translated from German by DeepL/sb

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