Differential Public Support for Disposable Plastic Bag Charge in Singapore: Insights from Latent Class Segmentation

Abstract

Disposable plastic bag charge is a proposed strategy to mitigate their use, but it may significantly impact daily life due to their frequent use. Understanding the segmentation of public support for charge is crucial for informed policymaking. This study conducted a questionnaire survey among a Singaporean population, collecting data from 1,953 respondents on their demographic profiles as well as their behaviour, attitudes, and willingness to pay for disposable plastic bags. The survey data suggest a supportive environment in Singapore for introducing charges on disposable plastic bags with most respondents preferred a charge of SGD 0.10 or below. By employing Cramér’s V test and latent class analysis, we have affirmed the existence of differential policy support and willingness-to-pay, identifying five distinct classes of respondents: Non-supporters, Ideal supporters, Cost-sensitive supporters, Moderate Pricing Supporters, and High Pricing Supporters, with some classes showing distinct profiles in terms of age, education level, and monthly income. Further analysis of the effects of imposed charges revealed that a charge that is too low appears to have a limited impact on reducing the overall usage of disposable plastic bags, whereas a charge that is too high is likely to yield diminishing returns and could potentially lead to an increase in public complaints. These results could provide crucial policy implications for addressing plastic issues and highlight that charging for disposable plastic bags is not just an end goal but a means to promote reduced consumption.