In a move to protect and improve the environment, governments and companies around the world are making an effort to reduce the use of plastic bags by shoppers for transporting purchased food and goods. Two of the most prevalent approaches for phasing out lightweight plastic bags are charges and bans. In 2002, Bangladesh became the first country to impose a total ban on lightweight plastic bags. As of January 2019, such bans have been introduced in 54 countries, with varying degrees of enforcement, and 32 other countries have imposed a charge per bag. Under the Revised Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, which came into force in April 2007, Japan has been making efforts to raise awareness among consumers by promoting waste reduction and encouraging retailers to charge for plastic packages and containers, as well as distributing reusable shopping bags to customers. Specifically, in Yamagata City in northern Japan, the city concluded an agreement with seven local food supermarket chains to reduce plastic bag use by having them agree to charge for the use of such bags. Before the agreement, the average percentage of shoppers bringing their own shopping bags was about 35%. Within a few months, the percentage had risen to almost 46%. Later that year, when 39 stores of the nine supermarket chains (two other chains joined the agreement) were charging for the use of plastic bags, the percentage rose to nearly 90%. It is estimated that the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by this initiative was about 225 tons during two months alone. Things to Ponder
Do you think that this strategy would work in your country? While some states and cities in the United States have banned plastics bags, do you think that U. S. consumers would reduce their use of plastic bags if they were charged for them? Why or why not?
Do you believe that a country’s cultural value systems have anything to do with the success of such programs? That is, do you believe that it is the extra money that consumers have to spend to purchase the plastic bags that drives the decrease in usage, or are there other factors in addition to the added cost?