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Bag leakage: The effect of disposable carryout bag regulations on unregulated bags

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  • Taylor, Rebecca L.C.
Abstract
Leakage occurs when partial regulation of consumer products results in increased consumption of these products in unregulated domains. This article quantifies plastic leakage from the banning of plastic carryout bags. Using quasi-random policy variation in California, I find the elimination of 40 million pounds of plastic carryout bags is offset by a 12 million pound increase in trash bag purchases—with small, medium, and tall trash bag sales increasing by 120%, 64%, and 6%, respectively. The results further reveal 12–22% of plastic carryout bags were reused as trash bags pre-regulation and show bag bans shift consumers towards fewer but heavier bags. With a substantial proportion of carryout bags already reused in a way that avoided the manufacture and purchase of another plastic bag, policy evaluations that ignore leakage effects overstate the regulation's welfare gains.

Suggested Citation

  • Taylor, Rebecca L.C., 2019. "Bag leakage: The effect of disposable carryout bag regulations on unregulated bags," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 254-271.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:93:y:2019:i:c:p:254-271
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2019.01.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Yu-Kai Huang & Richard T. Woodward, 2022. "Spillover Effects of Grocery Bag Legislation: Evidence of Bag Bans and Bag Fees," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(4), pages 711-741, April.
    2. Chenlu Ouyang & Huiqi Jiang & Qing Sheng & Guannan Liu & Minghui Jiang, 2022. "Tripartite Evolutionary Game Analysis for Plastic Pollution Prevention and Control under the Background of China’s Plastic Ban," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-22, February.
    3. Tatiana Homonoff & Lee‐Sien Kao & Javiera Selman & Christina Seybolt, 2022. "Skipping the Bag: The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Disposable Bag Regulation," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(1), pages 226-251, January.
    4. Raphael Calel & Jonathan Colmer & Antoine Dechezleprêtre & Matthieu Glachant, 2021. "Do carbon offsets offset carbon?," CEP Discussion Papers dp1808, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    5. 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.
    6. Cabrera, José María & Caffera, Marcelo & Cid, Alejandro, 2020. "Modest and Incomplete Incentives May Have Very Large Effects: The Impact of Prices on the Demand for Plastic Bags," MPRA Paper 105051, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Huang, Yu-Kai & Woodward, Richard T., 2020. "Effects of Grocery Bag Regulations on Grocery Sales and Shopping Behaviors: Evidence of Natural Experiments in the United States," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304232, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Cabrera, José María & Caffera, Marcelo & Cid, Alejandro, 2021. "Modest and incomplete incentives may work: Pricing plastic bags in Uruguay," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    9. Don Fullerton, 2024. "The Circular Economy," CESifo Working Paper Series 11109, CESifo.
    10. 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).
    11. Rebecca L. C. Taylor, 2022. "It's in the bag? The effect of plastic carryout bag bans on where and what people purchase to eat," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(5), pages 1563-1584, October.
    12. Lihini Silva & Rebecca L. C. Taylor, 2024. "If You Build It, Will They Compost? The Effects of Municipal Composting Services on Household Waste Disposal and Landfill Emissions," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(3), pages 761-789, March.
    13. Heath Milsom, Luke & Roland, Isabelle, 2021. "Minimum wages and the China syndrome: causal evidence from US local labor markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113850, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Vincent Geloso, 2022. "Statogenic climate change? Julian Simon and Institutions," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 35(3), pages 343-358, September.
    15. Han, Fei & Zhou, Jiehong & Yan, Zhen & Yin, Shijiu, 2022. "Nudge to be Green? The Influence of Social Comparison on Consumers' Consumption Behaviors: A Case Study of Green Takeaway Packaging," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322228, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. De Silva, Lihini & Taylor, Rebecca, 2021. "If you build it, they will compost: The effects of municipal composting services on household waste generation," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313874, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Leakage; Partial regulation; Environmental policy; Plastic; Consumer behavior; Event study; Subtractionality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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