The other side of Denmark’s green reputation
Walking through Copenhagen, it is easy to see why Denmark is known for its good environmental reputation. Clean streets, bicycles everywhere, renewable energy and recycling bins are part of everyday life.
Yet the numbers tell a different story. Denmark consumes 161 kilograms of plastic per capita every year, making it one of the countries with the highest plastic consumption in Europe.
Denmark and Norway consume almost twice the European Union average per year. At the same time, only around 4-6 per cent of plastic is recycled within the Nordic countries, while between 70-90 per cent is incinerated, depending on the country. More than three million tonnes of plastic are not recycled every year across the Nordic region.
Denmark does have examples of successful recycling. Its deposit-and-return system for drinks bottles is one of them. More than 90 per cent of PET (common lightweight plastic) bottles are returned across the Nordic countries.
However, bottles represent only a small part of the plastic people use every day. High recycling rates for bottles do not necessarily mean high recycling rates for plastic overall.
So behind this green image lies a less visible reality: Denmark is consuming more plastic than it did a decade ago, and most of that plastic is still not being recycled. The challenge for Denmark may therefore not simply be how to produce greener energy, but how to reduce the amount of plastic entering the system in the first place.
