Denmark praises new EU plastic strategy

Government begins work on national action plan

The food and environment minister, Esben Lunde Larsen, has hailed the EU for its long-awaited plastic strategy, which aims to reduce plastic waste and encourage recycling.

Among the points of the EU plan is a requirement that at least half of all plastic waste should be recycled by 2030, while plastic containers will be required to be easily recycled or reused.

“We have far too much plastic waste and we need to become better at recycling it through a well-functioning market for recycled plastic. It’s an area that has enormous potential that we can best lift at an EU level,” said Larsen.

“This is an agenda where we have the opportunity to play an active role with the decisions we make every day as a consumer. So it’s important that we can make enlightened decisions when we use plastic in our daily lives, so it doesn’t end up as waste.”

READ MORE: Denmark offers plastic guidance to EU in new letter

Parliament to meet
Previously, Larsen had pledged that Denmark would follow suit with a new national action plan on plastics as soon as the EU presented its plan. That promise will be kept.

Larsen said he would call for a Parliamentary hearing to discuss the contents of a national action plan in the near future.

Read the entire EU plastic strategy here (in English).




  • Danish Intelligence Service: Threat from Russia has intensified

    Danish Intelligence Service: Threat from Russia has intensified

    In the internal Danish waters, Russia will be able to attack underwater infrastructure from all types of vessels. The target could be cables with data, electricity and gas, assesses the Danish Defense Intelligence Service

  • Denmark to explore screening citizenship applicants for anti-democratic sentiments

    Denmark to explore screening citizenship applicants for anti-democratic sentiments

    A few weeks after Alex Vanopslagh’s comments about “right values,” the government announced that an expert committee would be established to examine the feasibility of screening citizenship applicants for anti-democratic attitudes.

  • The Future Copenhagen

    The Future Copenhagen

    The municipality plan encompasses building 40,000 houses by 2036 in order to help drive real estate prices down. But this is not the only huge project that will change the shape of the city: Lynetteholmen, M5 metro line, the Eastern Ring Road, and Jernbanebyen will transform Copenhagen into something different from what we know today

  • It’s not you: winter depression is affecting many people

    It’s not you: winter depression is affecting many people

    Many people in Denmark are facing hard times marked by sadness, anxiety, and apathy. It’s called winter depression, and it’s a widespread phenomenon during the cold months in Nordic countries.

  • Crime rates are rising, but people are safer

    Crime rates are rising, but people are safer

    Crime in Denmark is increasing for the second consecutive year, but it is more focused on property, while people appear to be safer than before. Over the past year, there were fewer incidents of violence

  • Novo Nordisk invests 8.5 billion DKK in new Odense facility

    Novo Nordisk invests 8.5 billion DKK in new Odense facility

    Despite Novo’s announcement that its growth abroad will be larger than in Denmark, the company announced this morning an 8.5 billion DKK investment for a new facility in Odense. This is the first time the company has established a new production site in Denmark this century.