Plastic bag use in Sweden rose sharply in 2025 after the tax was removed in autumn 2024. The Swedish Food Agency reports an increase of over 20 percent for carrier bags and 65 percent for thin bags.
Statistics from the Swedish Food Agency show that Swedes used an average of 23 plastic bags per person in 2025. This remains below the EU target of 40 bags per person.
Fredrik Khayati at the Swedish Food Agency links the rise to the tax abolition. He says one can assume the removal caused the increase.
A total of about 400 million plastic bags were sold in Sweden during 2025. Of these, nearly 250 million were carrier bags and 10 million were thick bags.
