Impacts of the “Plastic Bag Law” in the Grocery Retail in the city of São Paulo/Brazil

Karina Tonelli Silveira Dias, Acácia Ocerio da Silva, Wagner Luiz Lourenzani, Sergio Silva Braga Junior

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Among the waste generated by retail, the plastic bag, which has its main use for the transportation of products, is a constant component of household waste and negatively impacts the environment. In this context, Municipal Law 15,374 prohibited the free distribution of plastic bags in the city of São Paulo / Brazil, as of April 2015, and brought as an alternative the use of returnable bags and biodegradable bags in an attempt to reduce environmental impact caused by improper disposal of the plastic. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to analyze the impact of said Law on the reduction of the purchase of plastic bags made by the grocery retail in the city of São Paulo. A survey was conducted with data from two grocery retail stores in the city of São Paulo, between January and December 2015. The results showed that the implementation of the law reduced the volume of plastic bags provided by supermarkets without compromising the flow of people and financial income.

10.22161/ijaers.5.5.9