RezeroLab Data

Consumption of plastic bags

Data from Catalunya

Lightweight plastic bags consume a large amount of resources during the production phase and generate serious impacts on the environment once they become waste.

This indicator provides information on the consumption of lightweight plastic bags (bags with or without handle, made of plastic, which are provided to consumers at the point of sale of products or goods and which are less than 50 microns thick) according to Directive (EU) 2015/720.
This Directive requires Member States to take measures to achieve a reduction in the consumption of plastic bags and to report their annual consumption as a monitoring system for their reduction.

Evolution of the annual per capita consumption of bags in Catalonia, according to type

Source:Waste Agency of Catalonia
Graphics

Although the per capita consumption of disposable plastic bags has decreased in Catalonia in recent years, due to the various regulations that ban the free delivery of these to commercial establishments, the total number of bags consumed per capita has continued to increase, due to the increase in the consumption of alternative materials, such as compostable bags or paper bags which, despite not being made of plastic, continue to perpetuate the use-and-throw away culture.

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