Fund with NOK 1.9 billion seeks Svalbard clean-up money

Handelens Miljøfond, the retail trade's environmental fund, has NOK 1.9 billion invested but has applied for NOK 4 million from the fund that Svalbard's visitors pay into: a fifth of what that fund hands out in a year, according to Nettavisen. Politicians from three parties criticise the application.

The application to Svalbards miljøvernfond, the Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund, is for a professional clean-up of marine litter on Svalbard in 2027. It was submitted on 15 September and has not been decided, the Norwegian Environment Agency's application register shows. The fund announced up to NOK 8 million for its autumn 2026 round, with 15 September as the deadline, so the application is for half of that round.

Handelens Miljøfond is financed by a fee of NOK 4 on every plastic bag sold in Norwegian shops. It took in NOK 970 million from the fee last year and spent NOK 439 million, running costs included, Nettavisen reported on 1 November. At the end of 2025 it had NOK 1.91 billion invested. Svalbards miljøvernfond is funded by the NOK 150 fee every visitor to Svalbard pays and hands out about NOK 20 million a year, Nettavisen reported.

Lars Haltbrekken of SV, the Socialist Left Party, told Nettavisen that the application was "quite unbelievable": much of the bag money went into funds and shares, he said, not into clearing litter from the shore and the sea. He wants the fee moved into a state fund. Nikolai Astrup of Høyre, the Conservative Party, said that the fund could cover its own costs and that he was open to changing the arrangement. Une Bastholm of MDG, the Green Party, said that it was unfortunate that so much money sat unused.

Cecilie Lind, the fund's managing director, told Nettavisen that much of the litter came from sources other than retail, and that the trade had paid for years to clear other people's waste, including on Svalbard. She said that the fund had spent NOK 5 to 10 million a year on clean-up on Svalbard since 2023 and had removed 120 tonnes of waste there, and that the application was meant to get other polluters to share the cost.

Coverage: Nettavisen, Svalbards miljøvernfond, Hamar Arbeiderblad, iNyheter