How Do Tougher Plastics Ban Policies Modify People’s Usage of Plastic Bags? A Case Study in China

This study analyzes people’s bag usage before and after the introduction of the tougher 2021 plastics ban policies by counting the number of charged carrier bags, inner bags, old plastic bags, and reusable bags used by consumers at the exits of the investigated supermarkets in Shanghai, China. The results indicate positive effects of the tougher 2021 measures by observing significantly decreased usage of charged carrier bags by 46%, and significantly increased usage of old plastic bags and reusable bags by 117% and 36%, respectively. Policy execution loopholes are found in some supermarkets which do not follow the tougher plastics ban measures. Fortunately, the spill-over effects from tougher-measure-executing supermarkets fix this issue to some extent. Additionally, the tougher 2021 measures fail to be the most powerful impacting factor on people’s usage of each type of bag. To produce better plastics reducing results, other bag-targeted measures are necessary.