Norway

Specific Measures:

A national act on sustainable products and value chains entered into force 1. July 2024. The new act creates a legal basis for new regulations requiring more sustainable product and value chains in a more circular economy. It is a basis for regulations with requirements for sustainability for the whole life cycle of products, including batteries, vehicles, packaging, plastic, electrical and electronical products, and textiles.

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Specific Measures:
■ Use of recycled materials

Brief description:
Norway is working on implementing article 6 (5) of directive (EU) 2019/904 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment stating that beverage PET bottles meeting certain requirements contain on average at least 25 % recycled plastic from 2025, and that all beverage bottles meeting certain requirements contain on average at least 30 % recycled plastic from 2030.

As part of the EEA agreement Norway will likely implement the new EU regulation for packaging and packaging waste (2022/0396(COD)). The regulation states that any plastic part of packaging placed on the market shall contain a minimum percentage of recycled content recovered from post-consumer plastic waste ranging from 10 to 35 % by 1 January 2030 or three years after the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to in paragraph 8, whichever is the latest. It also states that any plastic part of packaging placed on the market shall contain a minimum percentage of recycled content recovered from post-consumer plastic waste ranging from 25 to 65 % by 1 January 2040.

Specific Measures:
Targeted Products
■ Cosmetics and Personal Care Products
■ Others (Please specify: plastic pellets, granular infill for artificial turfs

Brief description:
Norway has a national regulation on granular infill for artificial turfs. Regulations relating to pollution control chapter 32A establishes requirements for the design and operation of sports pitches that use loose microplastic as infill materials. It entered into force on 1 July 2021. It has been estimated that when all the regulation measures are implemented, the microplastic emissions from artificial turf pitches will be reduced by up to 90 %.

At the end of 2023, the EU adopted a regulation on intentionally added microplastics (synthetic polymer microparticles) under EU chemical regulation (REACH). The regulation will be incorporated into Norwegian law. It includes restrictions on placing on the market of microplastics as substances on their own or products containing intentionally added microplastics, with different transitional periods for different uses. It also includes restrictions on granular infill for synthetic sports surfaces.

The EU Commission has also proposed a regulation to reduce plastic pellet loss to the environment on land and in freshwater, which is under consideration in the EU and will be implemented in Norway when adopted. Reduction of plastic pellet loss, both on land and in the sea, is a high priority for Norway.

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■ Regulatory Measures (ex: production ban, Ban on use..etc)
Brief description:
Norway has implemented in national law measures in line with the EU Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (SUP-directive) such as bans on placing on the market certain plastic products and requirements on the marking of some single-use plastic products that are frequently inappropriately disposed of.
Banned single-use products:

• cotton bud sticks,
• cutlery, plates,
• straws and stirrers,
• balloon sticks and attachment mechanisms for such sticks,
• food containers made of expanded polystyrene (EPS), with or without a lid, for food products that are intended to be eaten from the container without further preparation either at the point of sale or as take away
• beverage packaging made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and
  corks and lids for these
• beverage cups made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and lids for these.

■ Economic Measures (levy, tax, subsidies…etc.)
Brief description:
Single-use packaging is subject to a basic tax, and all beverage packaging is subject to an environmental tax. The level of the environmental tax is set based on the potential for harm of the type of packaging if it were to end up in nature. This gives the industry incentives to establish return systems for bottles. The plastic bottles are subject to a deposit return fee for consumers. Around 90 % of plastic bottles are returned in Norway today.

Norway has an obligation through the EU Directive to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags. The largest actors in the Norwegian grocery, retail and trade sectors have agreed to meet the national obligations in the directive through the establishment of the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund (HMF) owned and operated by the relevant private actors. Members of the fund are required to place a fee on all plastic carrier bags they sell. The fund finances both national and international initiatives aimed at reducing and preventing plastic pollution e.g. through clean-up projects and support for technology and innovation.

The fund's stated goals are threefold:

1. Reduce plastic pollution
2. Increase plastic recycling
3. Reduce consumption of plastic bags

Some of the measures are recently implemented and yet to show the acquired results.
From 2021 to 2022, HMF reports that the consumption of plastic carrier bags was reduced by 12 per cent, from 151 to 132 bags per person. By increasing the price for the plastic bags significantly in 2023, the consumption has been decreasing further to 104 bags per person for 2023. HMF expects to reach the target of 40 plastic bags per person in 2025.

■ Others
Brief description:

• Actively involved in EU-processes on product design.
• Established a Plastic Partnership with business and industry.

Norway, in close cooperation with the EU, will promote more sustainable plastics use and design of products that will stay longer in the plastics value chain – striving towards a more circular economy for plastics.

In 2024, The Ministry of Climate and Environment established a plastic partnership with relevant business and industry organisations that provide single-use plastic packaging for food and beverages. The companies that join the partnership commit to implement measures to reduce their consumption of single use plastic cups and food containers, report on consumption and to perform awareness raising among their customers to reduce littering. The partnership also includes sharing of best practices among the members.

Norway is also promoting this issue in the Basel Convention global partnership on plastic waste.

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Specific Measures:
Norway has established schemes for Extended producer responsibility, several of which are relevant to plastic products: discarded electrical and electronic products, scrapped vehicles, collection, and recycling of discarded tyres, return systems for beverage containers and packaging waste. This is implemented through legal instruments in national waste regulations (Forskrift om gjenvinning og behandling av avfall (avfallsforskriften) - Lovdata).

In addition, three extended producers’ responsibility schemes are in process of being introduced or revised. Under is a description of the intended revisions/what new EPR schemes will cover, but will be subject to consultation and possible amendments before they are finalized:

• The EPR for packaging is currently under revision. The revision that is currently being consulted on, entails, amongst other things, removing thresholds for being subject to extended producer responsibility for packaging, so all producers are covered.
• A new producer responsibility scheme for certain single-use plastic products is under establishment, and a proposal are now on public consultation. Under this scheme, producers will be obligated to cover the costs incurred by municipalities for cleaning up and collecting the products covered by the scheme. Additionally, the producers must cover costs for awareness raising.
• Another extended producer responsibility scheme for equipment used in commercial and recreational fisheries and aquaculture containing plastics, is also under establishment. Here, the producers must make arrangements for the re-use and material recycling of returned fishing equipment that contains plastic when the producer responsibility comes into force. Further, they must ensure that systems for separate collection are available to a sufficient extent in the geographical areas where the products are used. The producers must cover the costs of collection, transport and treatment of the collected equipment.

Specific Measures:
In addition to the EPR schemes in section 3.1.5, Norway is also performing further developments and refinement of the waste management system. In general, Norway has a well-functioning and environmentally sound waste collection and management system. Clean-up of legacy waste has increased in years.

Norway has a national goal that recycling should increase, and that waste generation should be lower than the economic growth.

Norway adopted in May 2022 a new chapter 10A in the Waste regulations. Chapter 10A establishes mandatory sorting of biological waste and plastic waste (including plastic packaging and agricultural plastics) from municipal waste. The regulations entered into force 1 January 2023. This regulation requires municipalities to sort at least 70 % of plastic waste from households by 2035. It may also be necessary to strengthen the infrastructure for secondary raw materials. Chapter 10A was further amended in 2024, with changes coming into force in 2025. This includes mandatory separate collection of more waste streams for municipalities, including textile waste.

Norway has also adopted new regulations to implement the targets for recycling in the EU directive on packaging and packaging waste in the waste regulations chapter 6 and 7, that entered into force in May 2022. These changes mean that the amount of plastic packaging waste recycled must increase to 50 % by 2025 and to 55 % by 2030.

To reduce the dumping of leisure boats, Norway has a system where an owner of a boat under a certain size, is rewarded with Norwegian Kroner 1000 when handing the boat to a dedicated waste management facility. State financial support is also given to facilities handling the boats and preparing for recycling of the plastic materials.

Specific Measures: See description above.

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The Norwegian Environment Agency administers a grants scheme to support measures against marine litter, mainly clean-up actions. In 2024, NOK 25 million has been granted to various clean-up and prevention measures. The Agency further undertakes actions to spread knowledge on clean-up and on prevention of marine litter. They run map-based data platforms (Rydde/Rent hav) where clean up actions, needs, amounts and types of litter removed etc. is registered.

There are several clean-up initiatives in Norway:

• The organization Keep Norway Beautiful has for a long time organized clean-up actions and campaigns in Norway and in regional cooperation in the Nordic and the Arctic. The clean-up action is based on the Ocean Conservancy protocol with adaption to local conditions. They are currently also leading the Clean Europe network. In 2023, more than 60 000 volunteers signed up as participants in clean-up activities in Norway, 8 % more volunteers than for 2022.The organization is supported with 2.267 million NOK by the Government (per 2024).
• The Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund (HMF) program "Clean Norway in Time", as described under section 2.3, with a goal of cleaning 70% of the outer coastal line by 2028. They include clean-up of the coastal sea bottom and freshwater in some areas, and maintenance clean-up in some previously cleaned areas.

More information on clean-up can be found at: https://ryddenorge.no/

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Specific Measures:
Annual retrieval surveys of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear run by the Fisheries Authorities. Since the 1980s, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has organized annual clean-up surveys for lost or abandoned fishing gear. The fishers are obligated to report lost gear. The authorities can target retrieval accordingly. The gear is either delivered to the owner when possible, or delivered for recycling when clean enough.

A “Fishing for Litter” scheme has been run in Norway as a test scheme since 2016. In 2024 eleven harbours were included. The scheme is based on that the fishing boats involved, deliver passively fished waste for free to designated harbors. At these harbors, the waste is registered and either reused or recycled whenever possible. The environmental authorities have been paying for the arrangement, but many actors including all fishers, participate by own capacity. Fishing for Litter’s ambition for 2024 is to collect a minimum of 220 tonnes of marine waste.

In 2023 amendments to instrument/legislation under the Pollution Control Act came into force in Norway, which adopts EU Directive (EU) 2018/883 regarding port reception facilities for the delivery of waste from ships. The purpose of the directive is to protect the marine environment against negative consequences linked to waste from ships, by improving access delivery of waste in ports, promoting reuse, increasing material recycling and reducing marine littering. The law includes an obligation for ships to pay a general harbour fee for delivery of waste, independent of delivery or not (“no special fee”), is extended to also include fishing vessels, and that ports shall have reception facilities suitable also for delivery of waste fished up from the sea (termed passively fished waste) for which the cost will be covered by the general fee.

Specific Measures:
Measures are included in the national action plan for reducing marine litter from commercial and recreational fisheries and aquaculture.

Specific Measures:
Some measures of relevance are included in the national action plan for reducing marine litter from commercial and recreational fisheries and aquaculture.

Specific Measures:

• The plastic partnership with private sector actors was established in April 2024 to cooperate on reducing the consumption of disposable food containers for fast food or takeaway food, as well as drinking cups with lids that are made entirely or partly of plastic. Norway has set itself the goal of reducing consumption by 50 percent of these products by 2026.
• In 2014, Keep Norway Beautiful was established as a non-profit organisation working with volunteers, businesses and municipalities on littering. Keep Norway Beautiful coordinates clean-up efforts, for its member organisations and by broader mobilisation through organising national clean-up campaigns. Keep Norway Beautiful is also involved in litter prevention work by raising awareness, mapping litter and identifying sources and causes of litter. The organization receives core funding from the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
• Several initiatives make educational material available for free, such as the non-profit Loop and Rusken. The Norwegian Broadcasting Company also has available programs for children often used in schools on waste management/plastics. Waste Management Companies (both public and private) provide videos on sorting of waste, plastics etc.
• The Norwegian Directorate for Fisheries adopted in 2021 a dedicated action plan on marine litter. This action plan includes compulsory educational modules on marine litter for professional fishers.
• The Regional Action Plans on Marine Litter in the Arctic under PAME and for the North-East Atlantic under OSPAR includes actions on awareness raising.
• The Norwegian government grants annual funds to the non-profit organization Loop, which provides the inhabitants and companies with information on how to sort and recycle municipal waste. Loop has also developed a national system for labelling that facilitates the correct separation of packaging waste at source.
• The Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund and the Research Council of Norway (RCN) have a joint project on supporting research on circular solutions for plastics including reuse and recycling.
• The Research Council of Norway (RCN) and Innovation Norway supports projects aimed at coupling industry with research and innovation for a more circular economy. This includes several projects on plastics.

Specific Measures:
The Directorate of Fisheries has launched an Action Plan on Marine Litter which includes measures on awareness raising.
Keep Norway Beautiful and The Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund (HMF) arranges important awareness building campaigns.

Norway is involved in or supports such campaigns in many fora. Some examples are:
The Regional Action Plans on Marine Litter in the Arctic under PAME and for the North-East Atlantic under OSPAR includes actions on awareness raising.
Norway has since 2016 been part of and a contributor to the UNEP Clean Seas Campaign.
Projects under the Nordic Council of Climate and Environment Ministers includes elements of awareness building.

Specific Measures:
The Norwegian Directorate for Fisheries adopted in 2021 an action plan against marine litter from fisheries, recreational fishing and aquaculture. This action plan includes a.o. compulsory educational modules on marine litter for professional fishers.

Specific Measures:

• The regulations relating to the Norwegian pollution control chapter 32A establishes requirements for the design and operation of sports pitches that use loose microplastic as infill materials. These regulations entered into force on 1 July 2021.
• The Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund and the Research Council of Norway (RCN) have a joint project on supporting research on circular solutions for plastics including reuse and recycling.
• The Research Council of Norway (RCN) and Innovation Norway supports projects aimed at coupling industry with research and innovation for a more circular economy. This includes several projects on plastics.

Brief Description:
Life Cycle Assessments are common for certain products in Norway, but as an initiative of the private sector and not public authorities. The Norwegian EPD Foundation has been established by the private sector:https://www.epd-norge.no/

Brief Description:
Material Flow Analysis (MFA) on plastics are not conducted Norwegian Authorities. We are familiar with one study performed by the research institute NILU. This study presents a dynamic probabilistic economy-wide material flow analysis (MFA) of seven plastic polymers (HDPE, LDPE, PP, PS, PVC, EPS, and PET) in Norway from 2000 to 2050. Available here: https://plastcycle.nilu.no/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2023/01/Abbasi-et-al-2023_A-high-resolution-dynamic-probabilistic-material-flow-analysis-of-seven-plastic-polymers-A-case-study-of-Norway.pdf
See also section 2.4 regarding ongoing plastic statistic project in the Nordics.

The first national monitoring program on microplastics, Microplastics in Norwegian coastal areas, rivers, lakes, and air (MIKRONOR), was initiated in 2021 by the Norwegian Environment Agency. https://www.miljodirektoratet.no/publikasjoner/2024/januar-2024/monitoring-of-microplastics-in-the-norwegian-environment-mikronor/

MIKRONOR is designed to provide information on levels and types of microplastics in different parts of the Norwegian environment focusing on water and air. The aim of the program is to contribute to knowledge gaps such as knowledge on existing hot-spots and provide necessary knowledge to assess which measures will have the greatest effect, as well as eventually monitor the effect of measures over time. Sample types analysed in the program so far are several types of marine and freshwater samples from the sea surface, water column, wastewater effluent and urban runoff, as well as both marine and freshwater sediments. In addition, biota represented by bivalves (blue mussels and duck mussels) and marine polychaetas are analysed. The costs are approximately 4 MNOK per year, and the samples are mostly being gathered through hitchhiking on existing monitoring programs.

Since microplastic monitoring is an immature field when it comes to methodology, it was decided to start the program broadly, both in terms of collection methodology and sample types to gain experience and adapt for the future. The program is currently being evaluated based on both general development in the research field and through experiences gained through the program. Data will be made available through IECES (International Education and Credential Evaluation Services) Dome.

Norway is also currently increasing our macroplastic monitoring, and we are assessing how this can be done in practice following international guidelines, but under Norwegian conditions. Three larger projects are therefore being initiated on suggesting monitoring schemes, based on current knowledge status and technological progress, with specific approaches with costs on 1) Floating litter by e.g. using camera and AI methods, 2) Using satellite data to assess accumulation areas ("gyres") and 3) none-invasive methods to assess seafloor litter. All of these projects will be finalized in 2024.
Norway is also actively engaged in a number of relevant processes including cooperation at the european level on research and innovation – ERA and Horizon Europe, under UNEP, International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Basel Convention, the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML), OSPAR, Nordic Council of Climate and Environment Ministers, and the working groups PAME and AMAP under the Arctic Council.

Specific Measures:
Norway has signed on to the G7 Plastics Charter, the G20 Action Plan and has been a strong promoter of the four relevant resolutions passed by the UNEA, as well as measures taken by IMO and Basel Convention.

The Norwegian Development Program to Combat Marine Litter and Microplastics was launched in 2019. The program was granted up to 1.6 billion NOK from 2019 to 2024 and up to 1 billion NOK from 2024 to 2028 The programme is intended to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.1 which states that by 2025, the world should prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds and the UNEA-3 agreed vision to eliminate the discharge of litter and microplastics to the oceans over time. The main objective of the Norwegian development program to combat marine litter and microplastics is to prevent and greatly reduce the extent of marine litter from large sources in developing countries.
To achieve this, funding is set to focus on four outcomes:

1. Management of plastic waste in partner countries is improved
2. Selected coastal areas and rivers are cleared of waste and the waste is sustainably managed.
3. Private sector performance regarding sustainable production and use, and responsible waste management, is improved
4. Global commitments and national and regional instruments to prevent marine litter are strengthened.

Projects are being implemented through multilateral organizations such as the UN and the World Bank, NGOs and research institutes. Geographic focus is on fast-growing economies in South East Asia and Africa, as well as small island developing states to improve waste management systems and clean-up along the shore. Some 40 projects worldwide are funded by the programme.

The negotiations for a global binding agreement to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, is a high priority for Norway. This includes Norway’ co-chairing of the High Ambition Coalition to end plastic pollution together with Rwanda.

Target Regions:
■ Africa ■ Middle East and North Africa　■　South Asia ■ Central Asia
■ Oceania ■ South East ■ Latin America and Caribbean

Specific Measures:
The Norwegian Development Program to Combat Marine Litter and Microplastics supports projects and initiatives in target regions:
https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dokumenter/marine_litter/id2642037/