Legal basis

In 1994 the Norwegian government proposed the introduction of an eco-tax on packaging materials, in order to force producers and importers of consumer goods to reduce waste. Estimates showed that the eco-tax would mount to billions of kroners. The business and industry community responded by setting up its own system for collection and recovery, run by the industry itself. As long as the requirements of the Ministry of Environment are met, the industry keeps managing and maintaining the system without legal enforcement, and at a much lower cost. The targets set by the Ministry, and results achieved are as follows for 2008: