1 Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana, Maun, Botswana.
2 Department of Legal Services, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
Waste Manag Res. 2019 Jan;37(1):20-25. doi: 10.1177/0734242X18801495. Epub 2018 Oct 4.
Following the discovery of diamonds in Botswana, there was widespread use of plastic bags, possibly as a positive reaction to the change in economic and financial landscape of the country. The excessive use of plastic bags by consumers throughout Botswana, however, imposed several negative externalities to the environment and consequently to livelihoods through their effects on wildlife and livestock. The government of Botswana, in an effort to mitigate the negative impacts of plastic bags on the environment, introduced both a ban of plastics with less than minimum thickness and a plastic bag levy. This study assesses if the plastic bag levy regulation by the government is achieving its goal of reducing the use of plastic bags in Botswana, where Maun is used as a case study. It analyses consumers' perceptions about the plastic levy and its effects on their consumption. A total of 154 semi-structured questionnaires were administered through random selections of respondents at two shopping malls in Maun. In conclusion, the study established that although the levy is well targeted on consumers as sources of plastic bag litter, the levy is yet to attain its intended purpose of effecting a reduction of plastic bags demanded and/or consumed in Maun.
在博茨瓦纳发现钻石后，塑料袋的使用变得非常广泛，这可能是对该国经济和金融格局变化的一种积极反应。然而，博茨瓦纳消费者对塑料袋的过度使用给环境带来了许多负面影响，进而影响了野生动物和牲畜的生计。为了减轻塑料袋对环境的负面影响，博茨瓦纳政府出台了两项措施，一是禁止使用厚度低于最低标准的塑料袋，二是对塑料袋征税。本研究以马翁为例，评估了政府对塑料袋征税的规定是否实现了减少博茨瓦纳塑料袋使用量的目标。它分析了消费者对塑料袋征税的看法及其对消费的影响。通过在马翁的两个购物中心随机选择受访者，共发放了 154 份半结构化问卷。研究结论表明，尽管该税针对的是产生塑料袋垃圾的消费者，但该税尚未达到减少马翁地区塑料袋需求和/或消费的预期目的。
