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Denmark's Path to a Sustainable Packaging Economy
By 2021, Denmark has already surpassed its target of a 65% recycling rate for packaging waste, a milestone originally set for 2025. Despite some challenges, especially with plastics, the country is showing remarkable progress towards a more sustainable packaging industry.
As 2025 approaches, Denmark is one of the last EU countries to prepare for the implementation of producer responsibility for packaging, as required by the European Packaging Waste Directive. With the changes now incorporated into national legislation, companies are required to register and report their expected packaging volumes placed on the market to the authority by April 2024 - an important step towards accountability and environmental responsibility.
Due to legislative frameworks like this, Denmark has increased its focus on recycling. In 2021, an actual recycling rate of 65% was achieved, exceeding the target for 2025. This is according to a 2023 report from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, which gives an insight into the amounts of packaging placed on the Danish market and subsequently collected as waste.
Shift Towards Fibre Materials
In 2021, the total supply of packaging in Denmark amounted to 1,100,000 tonnes, which corresponds to 38.7 kg per capita and represents an increase of 16,000 tonnes (1.5%) compared to the previous year. The total packaging volume was made up of 484,000 tonnes of sales packaging (44%) and tonnes of transport packaging (56%).
803,000 tonnes of packaging waste was subsequently collected for recycling, which represents an increase of 16,000 tonnes (1.5%) compared to the previous year. While the amount of fibrous materials (19,000 tonnes) and glass (5,000 tonnes) collected increased, the amount of plastics decreased by 7,000 tonnes. Metal and wood also fell by 1,000 tonnes each.
The decline in plastic packaging is particularly noteworthy, reflecting the global efforts to reduce plastic waste. On the other hand, the use of other materials increased. For example, the amount of glass packaging increased by 5,000 tonnes, which the authority believes indicates a preference for recyclable and sustainable packaging.
The most striking change was seen in the area of fibre-based packaging, including cardboard and paper. Its volume rose by 19,000 tonnes, an increase of 3.6%. With this increase, the total volume of fibre packaging in 2021 is just above the 2019 level.
In 2021, a total of 710,000 tons of packaging waste was actually recycled. Plastic packaging has the lowest actual recycling rate (23%), while wood packaging has the highest (88%).The main reason for the increase in the use of fibre packaging is the growing popularity of online shopping in Denmark. According to the Danish Chamber of Commerce, online spending increased by 18% in 2021, setting a new record for e-commerce consumption. The report points to a direct correlation between the growth in online retail and the increased demand for shipping and packaging materials. Fibre packaging as the main material for shipping has benefited significantly from this trend.
Nevertheless, challenges remain, especially for plastic packaging, which lags behind in Europe with a recycling rate of 23%. With the exception of plastic, Denmark already reached its 2025 target of a recycling rate of 65% (710,000 tonnes) in 2021, both for the total amount of packaging waste and for the various packaging materials.
Deposit Rather than Reusable Packaging?
However, there is one fly in the ointment when it comes to the statistics on the use of reusable packaging: In the beer and soft drinks sector, there has been a decline in reusable packaging and a clear shift towards disposable packaging. However, with the decline in reusable beer bottles, the use of single-use packaging is increasing, which poses new challenges for waste management and sustainability initiatives.
Still, the Danes can score points here with one of the most efficient return and deposit systems in the world. Dansk Retursystem reports that in 2021, the proportion of single-use packaging returned in Denmark reached 93%, the highest in the world. The non-profit organisation that operates the Danish return and deposit system emphasises that the materials are sorted and recycled. The percentage that becomes new bottles and cans in a closed loop has risen from 90% to 94% in 2021, according to a press release from Dansk Retursystem. This is partly due to the fact that it has become possible to recycle some of the coloured plastic in a bottle-to-bottle cycle. In addition, more cans were returned — the recycling rate for these is almost 100%.
Denmark's journey towards a more sustainable packaging industry is characterised by significant successes and ongoing challenges. As the country approaches the legislative changes for 2025, the packaging industry must adapt and innovate to meet these new standards and set an example of environmental responsibility on a global scale.
