Plastic bottle cap litter falls 62% in Swedish cities, study finds

The requirement is part of the EU's single-use plastic directive and has sparked debate because many felt that the attached cap got in the way when drinking from the bottle.

The Keep Sweden Clean foundation has now examined littering of plastic caps in Swedish cities in connection with its national litter survey. The survey shows a 62 percent reduction in the number of caps between 2023 and 2025.

However, the decline does not appear to be uniform across the country. Along the west coast, the number of caps collected was almost unchanged compared with previous years.