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Philippine Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 66 (2022)
Factors Shaping Policy Adoption
on Single-Use Plastic Bag Regulation
in Philippine Cities and Municipalities
JOHN PHILIP D. GARCIA
National College of Public Administration and Governance
Abstract. In the absence of national legislation regulating plastic bag
use in the Philippines, cities and municipalities are implementing local
ordinances to regulate single-use plastics. This study tested factors shaping
policy adoption on single-use plastic bags in cities and municipalities, and
those that would explain the variation in the type of policy adopted. Five
variables were tested to generate a logistic regression model for policy
adoption and a multinomial logistic regression model for policy-type
variation study. These variables are waste generation, consistency in
implementing solid waste management, flooding hazard, income class,
and number of plastic industries. Among these factors, flooding hazard
and waste generation significantly explain why LGUs are likely to adopt
plastic regulation policy. While none of the factors tested could explain
the choice of policy between total and partial ban, and between total ban
and tax, flooding hazard significantly explained the choice of partial ban
over tax.
Keywords: logistic regression, environmental policy, policy adoption, local
government policies, plastic policy
Plastic is the workhorse material of the modern economy (Ocean Conservancy
& McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, 2015). Nowadays, several
products are made of plastic. In 2017, global polymer production, excluding fibers,
is estimated to be over 348 million tons (PlasticsEurope, 2018), and it is expected to
further increase at 8.4% annually (Geyer et al., 2017; Mills, 2011; PlasticsEurope,
2006; PlasticsEurope, 2016). Out of this annual production, only 50% will be disposed
after a single use (Mathalon & Hill, 2014) and only 9% of the 9 billion tons of plastic
produced is recycled (Enviroment Programme [UNEP], 2018).
Consequently, accumulation of plastic is evident in landfills or the natural
terrestrial and marine environment, making it a growing concern (Barnes et al., 2009;
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives [GAIA], 2019). Severity to the extent that
plastic waste is abundant has been suggested as a geological indicator for the proposed
Anthropocene era' (Zalasiewicz et al., 2016). According to Knoblauch et al. (2018),
concerns on plastic shopping bags as environmental hazards threatening human and
animal welfare is continuously increasing. Annual plastic bag consumption worldwide
ranges from 0.5-5 trillion pieces per year (Clapp & Swanston, 2009; Halweil, 2004;
Spokas, 2007). In the US, less than 5% of plastic bags are recycled, while others
are collected in landfills or leak into the environment (US Environmental Protection
Publication History. Received 18 January 2022 1 Accepted 13 March 2023 1 Published Online 25 September 2023
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