Plastics and packaging laws in Norway

Chapter 2b in the Norwegian Product Regulation, the “Regulations relating to restrictions on the manufacture, import, export, sale and use of chemicals and other products hazardous to health and the environment”, (in Norwegian: Produktforskriften) regulates the use of certain plastic products.

In addition, Norway cooperates with the EU through the EEA, and implements EU directives regulating packaging and plastic waste.

The use of single-use plastics in the following products are prohibited: Cotton swabs, cutlery (forks, knives, spoons & chopsticks), plates, straws, swizzle sticks, balloonsticks and associated parts, food containers from expanded polystyrene (EPS), drinkpackaging made of EPS and lids and drinking cups from EPS and their lids.

However, cotton swabs and straws may contain single-use plastics if used as medical equipment.

Norway has established several producer responsibility schemes that are relevant for plastics, relating to discarded electrical and electronic products, scrapped vehicles, collection and recycling of discarded tyres, fishing gear, as well as beverage containers.

Norway has a deposit return scheme (voluntary) for beverage containers, and over 90 % of plastic beverage containers are recycled through the return system.

There also exists a recycling scheme for household packaging waste, which the municipalities are responsible for. Most districts and cities have a well-functioning recycling system for household plastic waste.

Beverage containers are submitted to an “environment fee”. The fee for plastic bottles in 2024 is 4,06 NOK per unit. However, the fees will be reduced if more than 25 % of bottles are returned, and the fee will be removed entirely if more than 95 % of beverage containers in the given return system gets recycled.

There are no additional taxes, specific to packaging or plastics.

Products made from oxo-degradable plastic are not legal to distribute, see Product Regulations section 2b-4.

No further specific regulations targeting micro-plastics or microbeads exists.  

Norway is committed to the EU-targets on recycling, which states that 50 % of all plastic packaging shall be recycled in 2025, and 55 % in 2030.

Norway follows the EU-regulations on the matter and are currently in the process of implementing Commission Regulation 2022/1616 on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.

Distributors of certain plastic products must ensure that they are labelled in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation 2020/2151 on marking specifications on single-use plastics. These products include tampons, menstrual pads, wet wipes, tobacco products and drinking cups.

This chapter was last updated on December 2023 and does not reflect any subsequent developments in the law.