Two years ago, Chicago officially implemented a 7-cent-per-bag tax and became part of the growing list of United States cities attempting to curb plastic waste. In the time since the tax was enacted, there has been a 45 percent reduction of plastic and paper shopping bags used in Chicago, as well as an increase in the number of shoppers bringing their own reusable bags.
A joint study found that in the time since the tax was implemented, the number of consumers who used at least one plastic bag on every shopping trip fell from 82 percent to 54 percent. In addition to this, there was a 15.5 percent increase in shoppers who elected to bring a reusable bag. Finally, there was a 13 percent growth in those who chose to simply forgo bags altogether. The study was commissioned by the city of Chicago and was conducted by the University of Chicago, New York University, and the private consulting firm, ideas42.
Impacts of the tax were examined one month after being passed into law, as well as after one year. The findings were compared to data collected before the tax existed, and to information garnered from neighboring suburbs where no such tax is in place.
To Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the study confirmed that the tax was operating as the city had hoped.
“By decreasing our paper and plastic bag use, Chicago is making important progress in reducing our carbon footprint as well as reducing street litter and improving recycling operations,” he stated in a press release last year.
Photo courtesy of Shelby Kluver
The tax is bringing in less revenue than what Chicago initially planned for. Instead of bringing in $9.2 million, as the city had expected, the revenue from 2018 totalled $5 million. However, officials are looking at this as a positive outcome and equate the difference to people using less bags. This, they remark, leads to less litter. Of the seven cents taxed, five cents goes to the city and the other two go to retailers.
Chicago joined a growing list of cities across the country who have begun to implement bag taxes or bans. Forbes estimated that as of September of 2018, there were 349 US cities with some sort of law restricting or taxing the use of plastic sacks. Such bans or fees are also utilized by numerous countries around the world, including Denmark, Ireland, Australia, Rwanda, and Botswana.
Every year, Americans use over 100 billion plastic bags. The vast majority end up in landfills, where each one can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Additionally, litter caused by plastic bags clogs drainage systems, collects along roads and coastlines, and becomes a choking hazard for animals.
The adverse environmental impacts are found with paper bags as well. Such bags are easier to recycle and much more biodegradable, but their production requires a significantly larger amount of water and fuel, as well as the logging of thousands of trees. In 2016, the paper industry alone resulted in 21 percent of the toxic air released in the United States.
Shockingly, the manufacturing of a plastic bag has a smaller carbon footprint than the creation of a paper or cloth bag. However, plastic bags are often used once (or possibly twice, as a garbage liner or pet pooper-scooper) and then discarded. Despite being recyclable, less than 10 percent of plastic bags are recycled.
Photo courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times
So how does a tax help to effectively curb such devastating environmental impacts? According to researchers at ideas42, it all comes down to our fear of depletion. Humans tend to overvalue losses, especially when it is with something that used to be free.
Because of this, when shoppers are rewarded with a seven cent discount for every reusable bag they pack, there are virtually zero impacts on the consumers behavior. Conversely, when a seven cent tax is enacted on every plastic bag a shopper needs, those same people will put forth a greater effort to dodge the increased cost. Thus, a bag tax directly decreases bag usage.
When it comes to altering human behavior, triggering our loss aversion proves to be the most powerful method. As ideas42 states, people perceive losses to be, “Twice as bad as an equivalent gain is good.”
Philippe Alvarez is a student at Loyola University Chicago and has found that making reusable bags more trendy and socially acceptable for younger generations has helped to further incentivize him to bring his own.
Critics of bag taxes have concerns over the cost enacted on poor communities and consumers who travel on foot or by public transit. Ailis Yeager, a student at Loyola University Chicago, remarked that it a particular nuisance to commuters. “Carrying extra bags in order to go grocery shopping takes up space,” she remarked. Furthermore, “Having to bring a backpack while shopping to avoid paying for excessive bags makes sales associates uneasy.” While she does recognize the environmental goal of the tax, Yeager would prefer promotional offers for bringing one’s own bag.
Others, such as Minnesota state Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, argue that plastic bags can be recycled at many grocery stores and are more sanitary than reusable sacks.
Every year, battles over bag legislation are drawn out across the United States. Lobbyists like the Progressive Bag Alliance, which is funded by companies such as Formosa Plastics and the Superbag Corporation, pour millions of dollars into banning laws on plastic bags.
As Chicago continues to view the impacts of its own bag tax, it will worth watching the Illinois State Government to see if they will pass similar legislation. For now, Chicagoans will continue to try and remember to grab their own reusable bags before leaving the house.