ABSTRACT

This report was formed as part of Managerial

Economics course at NITIE. It contains facts and
figures about survey conducted to capture effects of
plastic ban in Maharashtra.

Rajat Tiwari -1802161;

Raunak Mehta – 1802164;
Rohit Kamal- 1802170;
Simran Rana – 1802163;
Mukesh Verma - 1801057;
Padwad Ketki – 1802137;
Pankita Parasar - 1802138;
Nikita Ambadaskar – 1802132;
SURVEY REPORT -CONSUMER AND Managerial Economics

RETAILER STUDY ON PLASTIC BAN

Submitted to Dr. Utpal Chattopadhyay
Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Literature Survey..................................................................................................................................... 3
Rajat Tiwari – 1802161 ....................................................................................................................... 3
Simran Rana -1802163 ........................................................................................................................ 4
Pankita Parasar – 1802138................................................................................................................. 5
Nikita Ambadaskar – 1802132 ............................................................................................................ 6
Ketki Padwad – 1802137 .................................................................................................................... 7
Mukesh Verma – 1801057 .................................................................................................................. 7
Raunak Mehta - 1802164 .................................................................................................................... 8
Rohit Kamal -1802170......................................................................................................................... 9
Methodology......................................................................................................................................... 10
Consumer behaviour on plastic ban ..................................................................................................... 10
Insights on Consumer Income profile: .............................................................................................. 10
Insights on the Educational Qualification of Consumers: ................................................................. 11
Insights on Usage of Plastic Bags before the Ban: ............................................................................ 11
Insights on willingness of consumer to pay for alternatives: ........................................................... 12
Analysis of Consumer Reaction to Ban: ............................................................................................ 13
Usage of Plastic Bag Post Ban: .......................................................................................................... 14
Analysis of Usage of substitutes Post Ban: ....................................................................................... 15
Analysis on usage of various acquisition channels for substitutes: .................................................. 16
Retailer behaviour on plastic ban ......................................................................................................... 17
Insight on Retailer Profile ..................................................................................................................... 17
Effect of Plastic ban on Business ....................................................................................................... 18
Environment friendly and reduced consumption ............................................................................. 18
Substitute Usage ............................................................................................................................... 19
Challenges with substitutes .............................................................................................................. 20
Challenges with substitutes .............................................................................................................. 21
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 22
Abstract
The Maharashtra government on 23 March had decided to ban a variety of plastic products, including
single-use disposable items. The implementation of this prohibition will begin from 23 June, but it is
business as usual for local shopkeepers and owners of eateries across the state, who continue to give
away plastic bags and single-use items, such as straws.
While a plastic-free environment sounds ideal, the lack of alternatives to banned products and
threat to the livelihoods of hundreds appears to make the state and its government unprepared for
an upcoming change.

In this study a survey is done in Mumbai, Maharashtra while segmenting the population in the
category of Retailer and consumers. A different set of questionnaires were being recorded for
Retailer as well as Consumers and their behaviour is being described with the help of plots. Finally,
though the plastic bag levy to force change of consumer as well as retailer behaviour, and study has
been reported on the evaluation of the consumer’s acceptance and analysis of the possible
correlations between the consumers’ attitude-behaviour of plastic bag levy and the consumer’s
shopping practice. Besides that, the study identifies current consumer practices on plastic bag usage
during the survey and secondary usage of the plastic bags.
Consumer and Retailer Reaction on Plastic
ban in Maharashtra
Abstract

Introduction
On June 23rd, 2018 Maharashtra government banned use of specific grade of plastic across the state.
Anyone found breaking the rule was fined heavily and would face jail on repetitive behaviour. Among
all the plastics available market only those above 50-micron thickness and with minimum 2gm weight
can be used. This paper presents the effect of such ban on behaviour of consumer and seller.

The paper begins with literature survey showcasing the effects of similar bans in different markets
situated across the globe. Literature survey also shows the alternative ways of tackling plastic waste
management. Later, the paper showcases the methodology used by students of NITIE – Mumbai to
capture the data from customers and retailers and presents the challenges in taking the data.

The paper then moves to analysis of data collected on Consumers and retailers where it shows the
reaction of consumers and retailers towards the imposed plastic ban. Finally, paper concludes with
remarks and understandings from the survey conducted and suggests some critical steps to be taken
by the government of Maharashtra.

Literature Survey
Rajat Tiwari – 1802161
In the paper by Shahariah Asmuni et.al on Public Participation and Effectiveness of the No Plastic Bag
Day Program in Malaysia they studied the effectiveness of the program imposed by the government
of levying the tax on usage of plastic on specific days of the week which they declared as No Plastic
Bag day. The study was conducted by deploying 45 observers in various parts of the Malaysian city in
the stores where they observed the consumer and seller behavior on these days. The study found that
the participation of consumers in NPBD program was moderate with 52.3 % avoid the use of plastic
bags. It also showed that 47.3 percentage of consumers paid the levy and used plastic bags implying
the government-imposed levy not being effective or low.

In the paper by Qunfang Zhu on An Appraisal and Analysis of the Law of “Plastic-Bag Ban” points out
the effectiveness of plastic bag ban by analyzing the cause of illegal use & whole selling of ultrathin
plastic bag in China. It showed that 71.8 % of consumers would use plastic bags if it were free
regardless of their consumption quantity. Consumers bringing shopping bag accounted for 17% where
as consumers purchasing shopping bag accounted for 33 % post ban on thin plastic bags. The paper
also highlights the illegal usage of plastic bag in farmer market where merchants use of plastic ban is
dominant due to insufficient knowledge about type of plastic ban and loose supervision over these
markets.in the end paper suggests new ways of improving awareness of plastic bag ban and to
improve supervision in the markets where the usage of ultra-thin plastic is predominant.

In an article written by Sadhguru on World Economic Forum called we don’t need to ban plastic. We
need to start using it properly facts about usage of plastics are presented where it states that usage of
plastics has gone up by twenty times from 15 million tons in 1960 to 311 million tons in 2014. It
discusses three strategies to transform global plastic market with the dominant strategy being
recycling and reusing of plastics. In this paper the author argues that the long life of plastic is precisely
the reason for which plastic should be pushed for reuse but not ban.

In the paper Johane Dikgang et. al on Behavioral Response to Plastic Bag Legislation in Botswana they
studied the effect of plastic bag tax on consumption of plastic bags by retailers of high income, low
income, upper middle income and lower middle income. Botswana government had earlier imposed
a tax on usage of plastic bag which led to increase in prices of plastic bag as per invisible forces of
economics. The paper thoroughly analyzed the changes consumption of plastic bag prices and
consumption pattern with respect to changes in levy of the government. It concluded that the amount
of shopping per bag rose sharply as the prices of bags increased across the retailers. The tax on bags
led to a significant decrease in the demand for plastic bags across all selected firms. It stated that
partial success of Botswana plastic bag ban was due to constant high prices of the plastic bags.

In an article written by Heather Caliendo on the economic effect of plastic bag bans it discusses the
effects of plastic ban on sales, potential job impact and the changes in consumer behavior driven by
big retail firms with incentive model. It states that firms like Target, Walmart and Kellogg are
incentivizing their customers to increase the reusability of their plastic bags. In this article it was also
highlighted that sales of retailers in the region with plastic ban faced a reduction of 6% sales where as
those in the region without plastic ban experienced a growth of 9%.

Simran Rana -1802163

From the paper on analysis of Economic and Environmental Impact of plastic ban, we understood that
plastic ban has the potential to eliminate close to 350 million plastic bags per year. This decline would
lead to reductions in GHG emissions, energy consumption, and solid waste generated during the life
cycle of a plastic bag. Water usage, however, is projected to increase significantly due to the water
needed to create paper bags and wash reusable. Furthermore, a ban should improve the cleanliness
of our waters and beaches, considering that 80% of marine debris originates from land sources, 60-
80% of which are plastics.

From the analysis of plastic ban in South Africa, we can see that the overall fall in the consumption of
plastic bags is approximately 44%, with the high-income retailer and the low-income retailer
experiencing 57% and 50% reductions respectively. However, given the trends illustrated our
predictions are that the increase in carrier-bag consumption will continue over time, despite the price
increases. given the steady increases in the number of bags used, it is reasonable to expect that the
plastic littering problem will persist. The inelasticity of bag consumption in the long term suggests that
the consumer behaviour may be more difficult to change than protagonists of market-based
incentives hope. The main objective of the plastic-bag legislation in South Africa was to reduce the
demand for plastic bags. The steady increase in the demand for plastic bags is evidence that the policy
has failed partially. The South African levy has only succeeded in reducing consumption in the short
term.

From the evaluation of Effects of California’s Proposed Plastic Ban, we figured that contrary to the
proposed idea that the ban will result in significant environmental benefits, banning plastic bags is
likely to result in increased use of non-renewable energy resources, increased emissions of
greenhouse gases, and increased use of water. At the same time, they are unlikely to reduce litter,
litter collection costs or waste management costs significantly. And they would have no discernible
Impact on marine animals.

Lastly, through the paper on plastic bag legislation, we understood that the consumption of plastic
bags was relatively stable across the selected retailers until the introduction of the plastic bag
legislation in July 2007. The amount of shopping carried per bag rose sharply as the price of bags
increased across all retailers. The tax on bags led to a significant decrease in the demand for plastic
bags per BWP 1,000 of shopping across all the selected firms. A study by Hasson et al. (2007) had
similar findings about short-term changes in demand for plastic bags in South Africa after a positive
value was attached to plastic bags. However, subsequent trends indicate that bag consumption has
increased again, despite the tax.

From the paper on Consumer Responses to incentives impose on plastic use, The study makes
available several policy implications. First, for the ban to be effective, it should be enforced with
credible information about the penalties both for shop owners and consumers. However, this is clearly
lacking in the policies relating to the ban espoused by the Delhi government although imposing
penalties on offenders (consumers or retailers) is vital for sending a signal to the users about the costs
of violation. Secondly, a blanket ban may not be the best possible solution under weak institutional
enforcement. Hence, we propose a combination of standards and right incentives, depending on the
kind of retail activity, to bring down the use of plastic bags. Thirdly, information highlighting the
environmental impacts of plastic bag usage can influence consumer behaviour significantly. As seen
in our study, relatively low-cost interventions can change consumer attitudes towards reusable bags.
Fourthly, subsidies either in cash or in kind (in the form of reusable bags) and explicit pricing could
lead to lower plastic bag use.
Pankita Parasar – 1802138
The use of plastic carrier bags by retailers has been a subject of debate in many countries the
convenience of these plastic bags come at a very high cost to the environment and negatively affects
human health. Several cities globally have begun banning the use of plastic bags while some have
enforced restricted laws against the use of plastic bags because of the negative effects of the use of
their usage which includes brazil, Malaysia and places in India like Mangalore and the state of
Maharashtra.

According to the study of Mangalore city in its awareness, the problems and the cost of disposal of
plastic items would burden the entire society. After their entry to environment, plastics take anywhere
from 15 to 1000 years to biodegrade. It poses a risk to human health and environment. In addition to
problems like choking the drains, the littered plastic bags are breeding ground for mosquitoes when
rain water gets collected in them. This could worsen the situation of malaria in a highly endemic area
like Mangalore city.

Also, it is necessary to highlight the importance of policies relating to the development of legislation
and the implementation of measures to protect the environment and prevent its degradation. The
example studied in other research conducted in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil which have banned
the use of plastic carrier bags such as São Paulo, Aracajú and João Pessoa it shows the importance of
new legislation in relation to change, in particular, in relation to consumer behaviour associated to
habits which can have an impact on the environment. The aim of companies adopting green marketing
strategies should be to effectively plan, produce and dispose of goods and services which have the
least possible impact on the environment and not to use it as an instrument for brand differentiation.

Malaysia introduced the No Plastic Bag Day program to discourage the use of plastic bags for carrying
items purchased from shopping stores. Malaysians on average produce an estimate of 19,000 tonnes
of solid waste annually and plastic waste represents 24% of total solid waste. The combined approach
of the levy and a restriction on plastic bag use applied in the program is an attempt to educate the
public and increase their awareness on the environmental hazards of using plastic bags. The use of
regulations such as the requirement for retailers to restrict the use of plastic bags for only those who
are willing to pay a levy is a method implemented to discourage the use of plastic bags. The stored
that do not provide the plastic bags they encouraged customers to bring their own carrier bags, or
they may purchase eco-friendly bags. Some stores provide paper bags or synthetic fibre carrier bags
that can be reused several times. Public participation in the study involves participation of both
consumers and suppliers of goods and services. This awareness may have derived from their habit of
reminding the consumers every Saturday or the reminder could be a requirement by the store. From
this aspect, the store participation can be regarded as fairly high, given that it exceeds 50%.

In China the consumers have accepted different ways of using plastic. Here plastic bags are made from
non-renewable resources, where the key ingredients are petroleum and natural gas. Polyethylene -
High Density, Low Density, linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) are the raw materials widely used
for the manufacture of plastic bags. The shopping bags used by supermarkets are ideally produced
out of LLDPE to get the desired thickness and glossy look. And if one needs very thin and gauzy bags
then LDPE would be an ideal choice. Plastic bags seem to be slender and light and hence are easy to
carry. As per Arlington, Virginia based American Plastics Council, plastic bags are cheap to produce
and that they have occupied as high as 80 percent of the grocery and convenience store markets.

Nikita Ambadaskar – 1802132

Noting the pre-ban scenario in various places such as noted by the Department of the Environment
(2005), while there was a Litter Act passed in 1982, 'waste was the last significant area of
environmental management to be subject to modern policy development and legislation in Ireland.
While on 15 March 2018,1 the Maharashtra state cabinet passed a decision to ban single-use plastics.
While there are reports on the impacts of plastic waste on marine and animal life the world over, the
scope and extent of this problem is still uncertain. Moreover, across the world, the efficacy of such
bans in reducing marine plastic pollution is debatable. Even this report puts the total percentage of
the daily plastic waste measured at municipal sites to be 6.92% of the total municipal waste by weight.
Again, this includes LDPE, PET, HDPE, polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) plastic recycling.

The processes involved in this sector begin with waste pickers at dumping sites (mostly women) and
BMC workers who collect and sell plastic waste to aggregators and ferrying traders (referred to as
kaantawaalas and pheriwaalas, respectively). While plastic scrap in the form of articles such as drums
and buckets— consisting of HDPE and PP plastic—can fetch an amount between `25 and `40 per kg.
Plastic scrap from toys and household appliances (which contain hard engineering plastics) can fetch
an even better price. There are at least 18 clusters of recycling units (informal and unorganized) spread
across Mumbai and its outskirts. Dharavi, Mankhurd, Kherwadi, Charkop, Khairani road, Kandivili,
Kurla and Malad are at the center of the plastic recycling chain the decision to ban single-use plastics
has evoked a great deal of anger and resentment amongst the people working in the recycling trade

The ban was formulated to encourage people to use fewer bags retailers were obliged to levy a 15-
cent charge for each bag given to customers. In the year prior to the introduction of these levy 1.2
billion free plastic bags were distributed in the country - more than 300 bags per person. In the first
year of the levy, consumption fell by 90% and the Revenue Commissioners collected almost €30
million.

After one year post ban it was noted that there had been a decrease in animal deaths due to the
swallowing of plastic bags, drainage systems were less likely to be clogged by such rubbish, and refuse
departments reported fewer bags going to landfill. There was an 80% decrease reported in sales of
bags from manufacturers to retail outlets. Despite their presence for well over 50 years, recycling
clusters in Mumbai have been ignored, and their contribution to waste management and sustainability
in the regional economy has been discounted. Irrespective of the way in which the ban is
implemented, the cost of such arbitrary decisions and cavalier environmentalism will be borne by
workers who are losing their livelihood.
Ketki Padwad – 1802137
Owing to a large use in the healthcare, textile, automotive and construction industry, the
Plastic Industry is one of the fastest growing markets in India. Polythene bags have been the
most commonly used form of plastic by consumers due to its properties of reuse and ease of
using. However, due to the non-biodegradable nature and improper disposal systems,
polythene bags have proved to be a major threat to the environment worldwide. Taking this
into account, Maharashtra Government imposed a Plastic Ban on March 23 rd 2018 to be
enforced from June 23rd 2018.
The ban brings with it varied effects on consumers’ shopping behaviour, sales from retailers,
packaging industry and an increased burden on the paper and cloth industry. A similar ban
has been imposed in various parts of India and the world and has been showing positive
effects on environment and consumer behaviour. The government of Uganda banned the use
of the bags in July 2007. A study conducted in the urban and peri-urban areas in Uganda
showed that the masses supported the ban and showed willingness to use alternative
materials like cloth, jute or paper bags.
A complete plastic ban has been imposed in 20 states/ Union Territories in India and a partial
ban has been imposed in 5 states. The ban has shown some shocking outcomes. Many
retailers are unaware of the ban even after 3 months of implementation in Jammu & Kashmir
while the ban was found not to be effective completely in Karnataka and Punjab. Retailers
and consumers insisted on penalizing the manufacturer of polythene bags and also spoke
about the inconvenience caused due to unavailability of alternative materials.
The ban has been causing hardships in the packaging and transport industry as well as to the
consumers. However, in the long run, the Indian Government is looking for a significant
contribution towards the reduction of plastic waste and litter caused by it. The government
should help retailers and consumers look for alternative and feasible substitutes to plastic
bags as it has been affecting the sales of certain industries like meat, dairy products and the
food industry. If implemented successfully, the plastic ban in Maharashtra can be a pilot
project and a step towards complete ban in the country.

Mukesh Verma – 1801057

International policies to reduce plastic marine pollution from single-use plastics (plastic bags and
microbeads): A review

Marine plastic pollution has been a growing concern for decades. Single-use plastics (plastic bags and
microbeads) are a significant source of this pollution. In this paper reviews current international
market-based strategies and policies to reduce plastic bags and microbeads. Recommendations to
further reduce single-use plastic marine pollution include: (i) research to evaluate effectiveness of
bans and levies to ensure policies are having positive impacts on marine environments; and (ii)
education and outreach to reduce consumption of plastic bags and microbeads at source.

Charges for plastic bags: Motivational and behavioral effects

Two field studies tested the effects of a charge for single-use plastic bags recently implemented in
Buenos Aires City, Argentina. Study 1 showed a greater increase in consumers' own bag use and Study
2 the motivational basis of behavioral changes, by studying the reasons why consumers support the
pricing policy and by examining to what extent they changed their plastic bag use behavior in order to
protect the environment. In conclusion, a plastic bag charge was effective to increase own bag use
among Argentinean consumers: the monetary incentive resulted in an increase in own bag use that
was sustained even two months after the policy was introduced.

Towards a sustainable business model for plastic shopping bag management in Sweden

In this paper investigates the environmental potential of a business model proposed in Sweden in
order to improve the utilization of plastic shopping bags. The business model aims to reduce the
consumption of plastic shopping bags and to collect and recycle discarded bags more effectively. The
proposed business model to: (1) reduce plastic bag use/purchase; (2) improve resource recovery from
discarded plastic bags, and (3) reduce virgin raw material demand to manufacture plastic bags. There
are several socio-economic dimensions to successful implementation of the proposed business model.
Some immediate issues to be addressed are to (i) improve the accessibility of the deposit/collection
system, (ii) address risks perceived by retail managers regarding a ‘take-back’ system, (iii) facilitate
customers’ environmental awareness, and (iv) support the proposed business model with appropriate
financial and regulatory mechanisms.

Eco-Impact of Plastic and Paper Shopping Bags

In this article describes the study of the eco-impact of plastic and paper bags using the life cycle impact
assessment (LCIA) technique under three different options: usage and disposal criteria with the
existing usage behavior to reuse and governmental policies to recycle (option1), usage and disposal
criteria as per consumers’ perceptions if systems are in place (option2) and usage and disposal criteria
in case of absence of recycling systems (option3).

Consumer attitudes on the use of plastic and cloth bags

This paper examines consumer attitudes and behavior on the use of plastic and cloth bags in Eskis¸ehir,
Turkey. In the conclusion of the study, it is identified that consumers who are environmentally
conscious and feel under social pressure, tend to reduce the use of plastic bags and switch to using
cloth bags.

Raunak Mehta - 1802164

The study in this research paper was done to find out the status of awareness of the health
hazards associated with the usage of plastic bags among people and their perception towards
the legislation prohibiting the use of plastic bags. The study was conducted in Mangalore city.
The findings of the study were:

 Reasons for using plastic bags were light weight, durability and above all low
cost.
 Majority of the residents (84.6%) were aware of atleast one hazard of plastic
usage.
 Awareness about alternatives was low amongst the population.

This article, written by Sadhguru and published by World Economic forum talks about a rather
conflicting point. In the article, the author emphasizes on using plastic properly rather than
banning it. A blue print to transform filth to wealth is the need of the hour. There should be
a comprehensive legal and policy framework to streamline and commercialize the process of
plastic recycling. The three strategies to transform the global plastic packaging market are-

 Fundamental redesign and innovation

 Reuse
 Recycling with radically improved economics and quality

This article talks about the fact that other countries’ action of fighting recycling plastic policy,
half the time meant that they were exporting it to some other country. China, by 2017,
imported 72% of all plastic waste. The top five countries exporting their plastic to China were
the US, the UK, Mexico, Japan and Germany. In 2017, China permanently banned the import
of plastic in country and now these and many other countries must find other effective ways
of recycling.

This article talks about enforcing plastic ban on Maharashtra. It focuses on the plan, the
penalty, necessity of this action, alternatives and the implementation of ban on plastic in
Maharashtra.

The objective of this research paper is to advance and assess different scenarios to control
the use of plastic bags based on enviro-socio-economic impacts analysis in Jordan. The
findings of this study revealed that a blanket ban may not be the best possible solution for
environment. Also, imposition of an environmental levy on the plastic bags can reduce their
consumption by 70% and had better sustainable effects than other scenarios.

Rohit Kamal -1802170

Plastic ban is not something new that the Government of Maharashtra has imposed. In the past, other
countries had already imposed this ban for the betterment of the environment. Canada acted swiftly
to curb the vast amount of plastic waste produced. It developed domestic strategies to move towards
zero plastic waste by developing reduction and recycling program to fill this void in the global circular
economy.

In Malaysia, the manufacturing sector there has been very vibrant and dynamic in producing plastic
products including plastic bags. According to the Malaysian people plastic should not be banned,
instead they want charges to be imposed on Plastic bags. Only a certain percentage of the Malaysians
want plastic to be banned there.

Some Least developed countries such as Kenya has also imposed the plastic ban in a similar fashion.
But Kenya imposed a selective ban targeting manufacturers and consumers of plastic carrier bags. A
research showed that utilization of plastic waste is needed to avoid unnecessary energy use.

Talking about the ecological impact of Paper and Plastic bags, an exploratory study has been
performed to analyze the life cycle impact assessment study of paper and plastic bags by using a
secondary data for LCI. According to LCI data and the analysis done, including certain hypothesis and
assumptions, plastic bags are found to be a little better in terms of environmental impacts compared
to paper bags.
 The overall question remains if banning plastic completely, the way ahead. Owing to large area under
impact, the capacity of the local governments to impose a ban ensuring the necessary monitoring
mechanism remains a challenge. Further, switching to paper bags also entails its own environment
concerns with its production requiring substantial water to produce and heavier than single use
plastics escalating greenhouse gas emissions relating to its transport.

Methodology
The method adopted to capture the effects of plastic ban on consumers and retailers was as follows

a. A questionnaire formed on cloud-based platform was floated to the students taking the
survey. It could capture data in real time and make it available for sharing easily
b. Questions collected data which was both discrete and continuous in nature
c. Students went across the city of Mumbai with smart phones and registered the data as they
received from the consumer or retailer.
d. The collected data was later compiled and analysed for the results to be presented as
mentioned in the following sections.

The survey was conducted in the month of July & August of 2018. Correctness of data was ensured by
faculty to reach at accurate results.

Consumer behaviour on plastic ban

Insights on Consumer Income profile:

Based on the data collected, we can clearly see that the maximum number of people have incomes
below Rs. 10,000 per month. This indicated that majority of the population come under the low-
income sector. The next range is income between 10k-20k and the amount of population is the same
as the amount of population having incomes between 20k-30k. As we go further up the income line,
the percentage of population keeps decreasing, the lowest being in the range of 70-80k and 90-100k.
The population beyond 100k constitute about 5% of the total population under observation.
Insights on the Educational Qualification of Consumers:

Looking at the educational profiles of the consumers under study, we observed that majority of them
are graduates. About 72% of the consumers fall under this category. Post graduates amount to 17%
of the population and are relatively low in number. The lowest in number are the consumers who have
passed only the 7th grade. They constitute only 1% of the population under study. Those that have
passed 12th and 10th are equal in number and each have 5% of consumers under them.

Insights on Usage of Plastic Bags before the Ban:

The data about the usage patterns of plastic bags by the consumers gives us various insights.
Use of Plastic as a carry bag: The frequency of responses indicates that the opinion on plastic bags
being used as carry bags is divided nearly equally amongst people who never use it and people who
use it quite frequently. So, there’s a near equal divide between these two kinds of consumers.

Use of Plastic as waste disposal: The graph of data indicating use of plastic as waste disposal follows
an asymmetric normal distribution with the most frequent response as being used “Sometimes”.

Use of Please for Storage: The graph of data indicating the use of plastic for storage purposes by
consumers indicates that, most of responses inclined towards using it either sometimes or rarely. So,
we can have concluded majority of consumers refrained from using it all the time.

Insights on willingness of consumer to pay for alternatives:

On assessment of data about the willingness to pay for alternatives to plastic (for one time use) , based
on the cost of alternatives, the insights were as follows – Understandably, following the demand curve,
the willingness of people declined with the price of the alternative. The highest response was for an
alternative with price ranging between Rs.0-5. As the price increased, the willingness declined with
the lowest being for the price range of Rs.20-25.
On assessment of the data about the willingness of people to pay for an alternative that can be used
multiple times, the decline in the curve was less sharp. This indicates that if the alternative can be
used multiple times, people are willing to pay more as compared to when the alternative could be
used only once. The highest willingness was for the range of Rs.0-5.

Analysis of Consumer Reaction to Ban:

On evaluation of the reactions of customers to the plastic ban, we can see that the majority reacted
by reducing the consumption of plastic used. A close second to this reaction was the opinion that the
ban of plastics caused an increase in hardship. A significant amount of population also believed that
the plastic ban caused an increase in costs of daily activities. Having said that, about a tenth of the
population also believed the plastic ban does not help the environment.
Opinions of consumers, on the alternative options that can be explored instead of banning plastic
were taken, and the following insights were found. About 5% of the population believed a proper
waste disposal system should be the way to go. Slightly more than a tenth of the population believed
that increasing recycling would be a better alternative. About a fifth of the population seemed to
believe a cheaper alternative to plastic would go a long way in reducing the use of plastic. And the
most common opinion was that all these options should be explored together.

Usage of Plastic Bag Post Ban:

An insight into the number of people who still used plastic post the ban gave the following analysis –
About a fifth of the population positively asserted that that they never used plastic post the ban. A
third of the population claimed to have used it rarely. Another third of the population admitted to
having used it sometimes. About 2 % of population claimed that they always used it despite the ban.
Analysis of Usage of substitutes Post Ban:

On analysis of the consumer data about the usage behaviour post ban, the following insights were
derived –

Cloth: Majority of people claimed to always use a cloth bag. No person claimed to have never used a
cloth bag.

Jute: Very low number of people claimed to always use jute bags. The opinions seemed to be divided
equally between sometimes and never having used it.

Wooden: The usage of wooden storage equipment seems to increasingly incline towards never being
used.

Alternative Plastic: Majority of people claim to use the plastic that is not banned ‘sometimes’

Paper Bags: Has an evenly distributed opinion between always and never except for being used ‘rarely’

Homemade: Sharp rise in number of people who claim to have never used it. Rest is distributed evenly.
Analysis on usage of various acquisition channels for substitutes:

The poll on where the substitutes were acquired from gave the following insights:

Homemade: While opinions range equally between always using it and sometimes using it, there is a
sharp rise in the opinion on never having used it.

Buying from market: Ranges equally between Always and Never.

At the time of shopping (Retailer): Sharp rise in the number of people claiming to “Often” use this
medium.

Promotional Vendors: Ranges equally between Always and Never.

Retailer behaviour on plastic ban

Insight on Retailer Profile

Retailers Profile
Stationary
Apparel
4%
Restaurants 15%
18% fruit stall
Bakery
4%
4%

gift items
4%
Pharmaceuticals grocery
15% 18%

Meat & Fish Liquor shop

11% 7%
Abov
e 80
60K-20K Daily Sales K
4%
4%

20K-30K
15%

10K-20K 5K-10K
22% 55%

The surveyed retailers varied across different industries with different sales figures per day as
mentioned in the figures above. The sample size for this survey was 27 retailers and survey were
conducted in the Mumbai City.
Effect of Plastic ban on Business
more than
Business sales gone down 40%
30% - 40% 0%
20% - 30% 4%
9%

10% - 20%
14%

less tha 10%

73%

less tha 10% 10% - 20% 20% - 30% 30% - 40% more than 40%

On asking the questions it was found that most of surveyed population (73%) faced the sales going
down by 10% maximum. While the maximum percentage of sales going down was noticed by 4% of
surveyed population these are meat sellers who used to give their product in previously banned plastic
bags.

Also, it was found that majority of the population was happy with decision made by the government.

Environment friendly and reduced consumption

Environmental protection quotient
30

25

20

15

10

0
Use of plastic causes serious environmental Ban on plastic is good for health and
problems environment

Agree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Strongly Agree Strongly disagree

Majority of the surveyed retailer population believes the usage of plastic causes serious environmental
problems. Majority also believes ban on plastic is good for health and environment.
 Carry Bag for customers pre ban sometim Give carry bag post ban always
sometime always es 4%
often
s
rarely 14% 5% 0%
9%
4% rarely
14%

mostly
32%
never never
41%
77%

We also observe that more number of retailers have stopped providing plastic bag to the consumers
for free post plastic ban. This shows that reduction in supply of plastic bag and high cost of alternatives
have added to these circumstances.

Substitute Usage

Substitutes for Storage

25
20
15
10
5
0
cloth jute wooden material not banned newspaper others
plastic

always mostly never rarely sometimes

For storage purpose cloth bag and newspaper came out to be prevalent substitutes that were used
for storage purpose. There are also plastic bags that are not banned used for storage.

For customers the substitutes that were provided by retailers were cloth bag to majority and
newspaper for notable number. Jute and unbanned plastic bags were smaller in number.
Challenges with substitutes
Difficulties with substitutes
30

25

20

15

10

0
Substitute not Inconvinence in Inconvenience in Non Water Others
available packaging carrying Repellant

Always Mostly rarely Sometimes Never

Due to less time to react, the industry faced shortages in the supply of the substitutes. Retailers also
said that the substitutes were inconvenient for packaging & carrying. And almost majority agreed
that the substitutes are not always water repellent.

Other Substitutes Are Costly

Strongly diagree
4%

Strongly agree
18%

Agree
Neither Agree or 52%
disagree
11%

Disagre
15%

Most retailers agreed that the cost of substitutes was high as the alternatives that were available
were cloth, jute, thick plastic bags. For e.g. a plastic bag which is not banned now costs Rupees 100
for 30 pieces where as compared to unbanned plastic that was costing Rupees 30 for 15 bags.
Challenges with substitutes

When surveyed upon the cost that consumers were charged by retailers it was found that the
average cost for cloth or jute bag provided by seller was Rupees 11. Whereas the paper bag was at
an average cost of Rs. 6.
Conclusion

Based on our survey and analysis, the following conclusions can be derived –

 Plastic bags are mostly used as carry bags, sometimes as waste disposal & rarely as storage
 Consumer mostly prefer cloth bag over other substitute
 Consumer often purchase carry bag from retailer while shopping
 Plastic bag ban has reduced the consumption of consumers and increased hardships
 Majority of surveyed population continue using plastic bag post ban.
 Majority of consumers consider ban imposed will help improve environment.
 Average cost of jute bag retailers charge is Rs11/-
 Average cost of paper bag that retailers are charge is Rs6/-
 Most of the consumers think the decision is taken in hurry without thinking thoroughly for
alternatives
 Most of the retailers think the ban is a good step towards environment as it helps preventing
blockage caused in sewages
 Other substitutes have to be made more cheap and should address the problems of carrying
wet products