In his thesis, Haoran He refers to several other countries that have implemented similar regulations aimed to reduce the consumption of plastic bags, for example Ireland and South Africa. Yet, he stresses that his study concerns only the effects observed in China. 'A general reflection based on studies in several countries is that if a country wants to reduce the consumption of plastic bags in the long term, it seems like repeated public information campaigns on environmental problems linked to plastic bags are very important,' says He. The Chinese ordinance allows store owners to price their own plastic bags and then keep the profit. However, the price may not be lower than the acquisition value, which is the equivalent of .10-.60 SEK/bag depending on size and quality.
As competition is fierce in China, many stores choose not to comply with the new ordinance. Haoran He says that four months after the implementation of the ordinance, 60 percent of all plastic bags were still given away at no charge. His study is based on consumer surveys conducted both before and after the regulation went into force. A total of 3000 consumers in Beijing and Guiyang responded to questions about their consumption habits and use and re-use of plastic shopping bags.