Consumer Responses to The Plastic Bag Levy in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

This study aims to examine the consumer responses to the plastic bag levy in Special RegionYogyakarta, Indonesia. The policy of plastic bag levy was enacted in February ۲۰۱۶ and revokedin October ۲۰۱۶. The qualitative descriptive analysis is conducted on ۱۰۰ supermarket customers.The result shows that majority of the consumers reduce the plastic bag usage after the enactment ofthe policy. ۷۵% of respondents use plastic bags less than before the policy enacted, while ۲۲% useplastic bags with the same amount as before the policy enactment, and the remaining ۳% decide nolonger using plastic bags. But, after the revocation of the policy, ۸۴% of respondents re-use thefree plastic bags provided by the stores. It means that the policy had no impact on the plastic bagconsumption in the long term. We suggest that the plastic-bag policy should be re-enacted withsome notes. Firstly, the price of the plastic bag should be increased so that consumers' reconsider ifthey want to use the plastic bag. Secondly, the levy should be managed for social or environmentalactions through CSR. Third, consumers' should be offered the non-plastic material bags but still atreasonable price.