IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i13p7792-d848377.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perception and Behavioural Changes of Residents and Enterprises under the Plastic Bag Restricting Law

Author

Listed:
  • Liujie Xu

    (National Observation and Research Station of Coastal Ecological Environments in Macao, Macao Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao 999078, China)

  • Yuan Zhong

    (National Observation and Research Station of Coastal Ecological Environments in Macao, Macao Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao 999078, China)

  • Xi He

    (National Observation and Research Station of Coastal Ecological Environments in Macao, Macao Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao 999078, China)

  • Xiong Shi

    (Yangtze Eco-Environment Engineering Research Center, China Three Gorges Corporation, Beijing 100038, China)

  • Qingbin Song

    (National Observation and Research Station of Coastal Ecological Environments in Macao, Macao Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao 999078, China)

Abstract

With the severe plastic pollution issue worldwide, restrictions or bans on plastic bags have become the most popular policy intervention. As essential participants in reducing plastic consumption, residents and enterprises are vital in implementing the plastic bag restriction law (PBRL). Through a questionnaires survey of the 630 consumers and 50 enterprises, this study investigates residents’ and enterprises’ perceptions and behavioural changes toward PBRL in Macao and identifies the key influence factors. The results show that most of the respondents (95%) began to reduce the use of plastic bags after implementing the PBRL. The Internet and TV/radio were essential ways for respondents to acquire knowledge of the PBRL policy. The results of applying the binary regression model indicate that demographic characteristics (gender), plastic bags knowledge, environmental concern, and policy satisfaction were the key factors in individual consumers’ behavioural changes. For enterprises, the supermarkets have the most significant decline in sales of plastic bags. Moreover, some enterprises, especially grocery stores and supermarkets also imply that their sales are affected after implementing the PBRL. The obtained results in this study may serve as a reference for Macao and other regions to promote and improve PBRL in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Liujie Xu & Yuan Zhong & Xi He & Xiong Shi & Qingbin Song, 2022. "Perception and Behavioural Changes of Residents and Enterprises under the Plastic Bag Restricting Law," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:13:p:7792-:d:848377
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/7792/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/7792/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hu, Jia-Wei & Javaid, Aneeque & Creutzig, Felix, 2021. "Leverage points for accelerating adoption of shared electric cars: Perceived benefits and environmental impact of NEVs," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    2. He, Haoran, 2012. "Effects of environmental policy on consumption: lessons from the Chinese plastic bag regulation," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(4), pages 407-431, August.
    3. Jörg Radtke & Özgür Yildiz & Lucas Roth, 2022. "Does Energy Community Membership Change Sustainable Attitudes and Behavioral Patterns? Empirical Evidence from Community Wind Energy in Germany," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jingze Jiang, 2016. "Peer Pressure in Voluntary Environmental Programs: a Case of the Bag Rewards Program," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 155-190, June.
    2. Bairong Wang & Yuhua Zhao & Yong Li, 2021. "How Do Tougher Plastics Ban Policies Modify People’s Usage of Plastic Bags? A Case Study in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-8, October.
    3. Okto Irianto & Kosuke Mizuno & Safri Burhanuddin & Ninasapti Triaswati, 2022. "Formulating an Excise Duty on Plastic: A Strategy to Manage Marine Plastic Waste in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Myriam Caratù & Valerio Brescia & Ilaria Pigliautile & Paolo Biancone, 2023. "Assessing Energy Communities’ Awareness on Social Media with a Content and Sentiment Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-28, April.
    5. Liza Bell & Gina Scutelnicu Todoran, 2022. "Plastic bag legislation in the United States: influential factors on its creation," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 12(2), pages 260-271, June.
    6. Yong Li & Bairong Wang, 2021. "Go Green and Recycle: Analyzing the Usage of Plastic Bags for Shopping in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-10, November.
    7. Lindvall, Daniel, 2023. "Why municipalities reject wind power: A study on municipal acceptance and rejection of wind power instalments in Sweden," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    8. Shafiee Roudbari, Erfan & Kantor, Ivan & Menon, Ramanunni Parakkal & Eicker, Ursula, 2024. "Optimization-based decision support for designing industrial symbiosis district energy systems under uncertainty," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 367(C).
    9. Van Asselt, Joanna & Nian, Yefan & Soh, Moonwon & Morgan, Stephen & Gao, Zhifeng, 2022. "Do plastic warning labels reduce consumers' willingness to pay for plastic egg packaging? – Evidence from a choice experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    10. Alpizar, Francisco & Carlsson, Fredrik & Lanza, Gracia, 2024. "On the perils of environmentally friendly alternatives," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    11. Cabrera, José María & Caffera, Marcelo & Cid, Alejandro, 2020. "Small Incentives May Have Large Effects: The Impact of Prices on the Demand for Plastic Bags," MPRA Paper 100178, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Chen Liu & Chang Liu, 2023. "Exploring Plastic-Management Policy in China: Status, Challenges and Policy Insights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, June.
    13. Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic to the Sustainability of the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    14. Liu, Bingchun & Song, Chengyuan & Wang, Qingshan & Zhang, Xinming & Chen, Jiali, 2022. "Research on regional differences of China's new energy vehicles promotion policies: A perspective of sales volume forecasting," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    15. Yong Li & Bairong Wang & Yunyu Li, 2023. "The Influence of the Big Five Personality Traits on Residents’ Plastic Reduction Attitudes in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-12, May.
    16. Kai Zhang & Dong Yan, 2023. "Enhancing the Community Environment in Populous Residential Districts: Neighborhood Amenities and Residents’ Daily Needs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-28, September.
    17. Katleho Keneuwe Khoaele & Oluwatoyin Joseph Gbadeyan & Viren Chunilall & Bruce Sithole, 2023. "The Devastation of Waste Plastic on the Environment and Remediation Processes: A Critical Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, March.
    18. Teng Yu & Yajun Zhang & Ai Ping Teoh & Anchao Wang & Chengliang Wang, 2023. "Factors Influencing University Students’ Behavioral Intention to Use Electric Car-Sharing Services in Guangzhou, China," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    19. Roth, Lucas & Lowitzsch, Jens & Yildiz, Özgür, 2023. "Which (co-)ownership types in renewables are associated with the willingness to adopt energy-efficient technologies and energy-conscious behaviour? Data from German households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    20. Goshu Desalegn & Anita Tangl, 2022. "Banning Vs Taxing, Reviewing the Potential Opportunities and Challenges of Plastic Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:13:p:7792-:d:848377. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.