A Non-Plastic Paradise? - An Evaluation of the Swedish Plastic Bag Tax

Abstract: The Swedish tax on lightweight plastic carrier bags has been a contentious issue in the arena of national politics. There have been many debate articles, interpellations, and other expressions of opinions on the matter. The tax was introduced by several political parties as part of the January Deal as a response to the EU directive on reducing microplastics in the environment. In this thesis, I have attempted to evaluate the plastic bag tax based on McConnell’s framework for determining degrees of policy success in several varying areas of policy dimensions. The data used was gathered through semi-structured interviews with relevant political actors, as well as by scouring through official documents. I determine that the plastic bag tax should be considered a success in many different ways, but that my findings are sometimes unreliable and might therefore not account for the objective reality of the case. Overall, I find that the tax should be considered a resilient success.