The government aims to outlaw most single-use plastics by 2020

Victoria Garza

Norway Today

The Norwegian government will ban plastic disposable cutlery, plates, straws, and q-tips. The ban will be introduced before next summer, NRK reports.

It was during this year’s annual beach cleanup day that Minister of the Environment Ola Elvestuen shared the news.

“There is no reason to have these items in plastic. Therefore, we will ban them and try to get the ban in place before next summer,” says Elvestuen to NRK.

The government does not want to wait for the EU process to ban single-use plastic, and has therefore commissioned the Norwegian Environment Agency to establish Norwegian regulations in the spring of 2020.

“We want to do this as quickly as we can, so we hope that summer is the last where plastic cutlery is allowed,” says Elvestuen.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is positive to the proposal.

“It is good to see that our government has been inspired by the EU, India, and Costa Rica, all of which have banned a number of disposable plastic products. Ola Elvestuen and the government are positioning Norway among the best in this class again in their efforts to reduce plastic waste,” says Secretary-General Bård Vegar Solhjell in a comment.

At the same time, WWF calls for a clear set of regulations for producers to follow responsibly, which many political parties, environmental organizations, and business actors have also asked for.

Read more on efforts to ban plastics:

See related story on Hurtigruten’s war on plastic waste (The Norwegian American, June 25, 2018): www.norwegianamerican.com/heritage/hurtigruten-wages-war-plastic-waste.

See related story on sensors to sort waste (The Norwegian American, June 12, 2018): www.norwegianamerican.com/business/sensors-sort-waste-diamonds.

This article was originally published on Norway Today.

This article originally appeared in the May 17, 2019, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.