After three weeks of the plastic reduction incentive campaign a comparison of data shows great results: some shops reduced their plastic bag usage with over 70%.

The incentive campaign (full name “incentivising sustainable shopping campaign” or “bring your own container for 100-Kyat discount campaign” started on the 20th of November. The overall purpose of the campaign is to promote both the habit of sustainable consumption and local businesses at the same time and improving citizen’s waste knowledge and behaviour. The campaign started together with the campaign leaders and trustworthy owners of food shops and vendors located in different wards across Pathein city in Myanmar. In this campaign, customers who shop at the selected shops are offered a 100 Kyat (€0,05) discount when they refuse to use a plastic bag for their purchase. Typically a meal from a street vendor, for example Mohinga fish soup, is between 1000 and 2000 Myanmar Kyat. The campaign aims to reduce the usage of single-use plastic bags.

Thant Myanmar took up the technical advisory role and Clean Pathein members have an implementing role in the campaign. The campaign is designed as follows: campaign leaders from the local CSO, through the supervision of Thant Myanmar, provide awareness to 20 shops and closely monitor them in the reduction of single-use plastic bags. The campaign is designed to run for a least 10 weeks, in order to facilitate behavioral change. Before the baseline data was collected, the campaign leaders participated in a training of trainers to provide them with tools to properly engage shopkeepers involved in the campaign. The shopkeepers were pre-selected based on criteria set.

VNG International, Thant Myanmar and Clean Pathein held a feedback session after three weeks, where the campaign leaders could share their experience, get advice from Thant Myanmar and the collected data was compared. After three weeks two shops reduced their plastic bag distribution with more than 70%, and one shop with up to 89%. Nine other shops reduced the usage and distribution with more than 40%. The team was very impressed and happy with the results and was inspired to move forward.

A customer is happy to bring his own container and more aware of the importance to reduce the usage of plastic bags.