Plastic bag usage in Switzerland drops 88 percent since 2016

The use of plastic bags in Switzerland has plummeted by over 80 percent since 2016, a new study from the country’s Retail Federation has revealed. Industry agreements have even led some Swiss supermarkets to scrap plastic bags altogether.

Plastic and reusable bag sales plummet in Switzerland

According to the data, in 2024, 51,1 million plastic bags were distributed in Switzerland. This is 88 percent or over 360 million fewer bags that were issued by stores in 2016. At the same time, the consumption of reusable bags has also fallen by 65 percent in four years, going from 48,8 million units in 2020 to just 16,2 million in 2024.

Much of the decline has been attributed to two agreements signed in 2016 and 2019, in which retailers, international companies, supermarkets and other stores committed to reducing the number of plastic and reusable bags they sell. The fact that you have to pay for most plastic bags may also have coaxed more people to keep and reuse the ones they have.

Many Swiss stores no longer sell plastic bags at all

This new attitude has encouraged many stores across the cantons to go further. Today, brands like Aldi, C&A, Hornbach, Loeb, Lidl and Tchibo no longer sell plastic bags at all in Switzerland.

With the original aim set as cutting single-use plastic bag sales by 80 percent and reusable bag sales by 35 percent by 2025, the Swiss Retail Federation has exceeded its original goals. What's more, the number of new bags being issued has stabilised at a “low level”.

Due to this “resounding and lasting” success, they have now chosen to stop monitoring the number of bags being issued.