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According to a new study, plastic bag fines and prohibitions designed to minimize plastic waste may have unintended consequences, such as increased garbage bag sales. Specifically, substitute plastic bag sales have increased by 120% in regions where bans and fines have been enforced.
Consumers frequently use carryout grocery bags (or CBGs) for other purposes, according to the peer-reviewed study, and measures to reduce plastic bag use have unintended spillover consequences.
Researchers obtained data from numerous regions and counties, all of which have adopted restrictions or fines for CBG use. These data sets were compared to similar counties where bag restrictions were not in place.
According to data, shoppers frequently utilized CBGs as garbage can liners or for other similar purposes around the house. Bag fees and bans, which were intended to benefit the environment and limit plastic use, did not eliminate these needs, according to the report.
Specifically, when those carryout bags were taken away from customers, they shifted to smaller garbage bags, resulting in a monthly rise of 127 pounds in purchased plastics per store.
Four- and eight-gallon plastic bags purchases, or smaller bag purchases, increased exponentially, growing at respective rates of 120% and 64%.
Purchases of larger bags, on the other hand, remained virtually unchanged, demonstrating that customers used smaller bags in a variety of ways. Simply, consumer demand for plastic bags shifted from regulated to unregulated alternatives when the regulations went into force.
Generally, the study reveals that aiming to minimize CBG distribution has unforeseen results, and it is unclear whether additional plastic overall is being used. In fact, a bag ban may result in an increase in overall plastic waste, and this is without accounting for any plastic content in CGBs that consumers may purchase to use (and subsequently discard) because of regulations.
Overall, if CBGs are used for other purposes by consumers, then regulating their use may not be in policymakers' best interests as the efficiency of shopping bag bans depends on whether free carryout grocery bags are reused or replaced by alternatives.
