In 2020, each person living in the EU used, on average, 87 lightweight plastic carrier bags (-6 bags per person compared with 2019). In total, this amounted to 39.0 billion (bn) lightweight plastic carrier bags (-0.4 bn bags compared with 2019).
This information comes from data on lightweight plastic carrier bags published by Eurostat today. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.
Source dataset: env_waspcb
Although the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags (LPCBs) decreased overall since the start of the data series (2018), the consumption of very light plastic carrier bags (VLPCBs) that are less than 15 micrometres (microns) thick actually increased (14.0 bn in 2018; 14.3 bn in 2019; 14.7 bn in 2020).
However, the consumption of LPCBs that are from 15 to less than 50 microns thick decreased noticeably between 2018 (22.0 bn) and 2019 (19.8 bn), then remained more or less stable in 2020 (19.9 bn).
The increase in the consumption of VLPCBs may be a substitution effect resulting from the plastic bags directive which aims at reducing the consumption of LPCBs to not exceed 40 bags per person by 31 December 2025. However, this target does not include VLPCBs.
Source dataset: env_waspcb
Among the EU Member States, the countries that reported the highest consumption of LPCBs per person in 2020 were Lithuania (294 bags per person), Czechia (251) and Latvia (229), with the majority of the consumption relating to VLPCBs.
At the other end of the scale, the countries that reported the lowest consumption were Belgium (10 bags per person), Portugal (17) and Poland (20). In Belgium, on average, only 3 VLPCBs per person were consumed in 2020. Portugal and Poland did not report the split.
For more information:
- Statistics Explained article on consumption of plastic carrier bags - estimates
- Podcast episode: “How do we manage waste in the EU”?
- Dedicated section on waste
- Database on waste
Methodological notes:
- Lightweight plastic carrier bags (LPCBs): plastic carrier bags with a wall thickness below 50 microns, with or without a handle, that are made of plastic, that are supplied to customers at the point of sale of goods or products.
- The aggregates for the first visual are calculated based on the countries that voluntarily reported the split by micron class. Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, France, Croatia, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Finland: data not available for all years.
- Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Romania and Finland: data on lightweight plastic carrier bag consumption per person not available.
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