The new plastic caps that are stuck on packaging were introduced in July 2024. According to the report from the foundation Keep Sweden Clean, the number of plastic caps along the West Coast beaches still tripled from 2023 to 2024.
On average, 532 pieces of litter were found per 100 meters of beach along the West Sea, which is 27 times more than the EU's limit value for what is considered good environmental status. Plastic accounts for 99 percent of the total litter on beaches along the West Sea, and the presence of plastic caps is increasing, from 46 caps per 100 meters of beach to 144.
We are a bit surprised. We get a lot of litter from other countries on the West Coast. The alternative is that people get annoyed with the caps that remain on the bottle and actually tear them off, says Eva Blidberg, expert at Keep Sweden Clean, to P4 Väst.
On the Baltic Sea beaches, the situation looks better. The Baltic Sea is the only region in the EU that meets the threshold value of 20 pieces of litter per 100 meters of beach.
