Reducing plastic waste has become an urgent global challenge. To help fight this problem, European countries have undertaken the mission to reduce lightweight plastic bag consumption. In 2014, Portugal implemented a charge on lightweight plastic bags, calling for an adjustment from both consumers and firms. The present research aims to study the psychosocial and economic impacts of this tax measure, namely in terms of acceptability of the measure, potential attitude and behaviour changes, and impact on plastic bag markets. The psychosocial impacts were studied based on an online survey (N = 198) and on available datasets illustrating societal trends. Survey results showed that participants agreed with the charge and with widening it to all types of plastic bags. They attributed environmental motives to its implementation, developed reuse habits and mentioned a decreased consumption of disposable plastics. In addition, individuals appear more concerned with the impacts of everyday plastic products in the environment, and more willing to pay higher taxes and prices to protect the environment.

The economic impacts were studied using available data on the charge revenue and on the production and sales of plastic bags, among others. We illustrate that the implementation of the charge led to a sharp fall in the use of lightweight bags, generating a decrease in the production and sale of plastic bags overall, while avoiding significant impacts on the relevant economic sectors.

减少塑料废料已成为迫在眉睫的全球挑战。为了帮助解决这个问题，欧洲国家承担了减少轻质塑料袋消费的使命。2014年，葡萄牙对轻质塑料袋实施了收费，要求消费者和企业进行调整。本研究旨在研究这项税收措施的社会心理和经济影响，即在该措施的可接受性，潜在的态度和行为变化以及对塑料袋市场的影响方面。根据在线调查研究了心理社会影响（N = 198）和说明社会趋势的可用数据集。调查结果表明，参与者同意这项收费，并将收费范围扩大到所有类型的塑料袋。他们将环境动机归功于其实施，发展了重复使用的习惯，并提到了一次性塑料消耗的减少。此外，人们似乎更加关注日常塑料产品对环境的影响，并且更愿意为保护环境付出更高的税收和价格。

使用有关装料收入以及塑料袋生产和销售等方面的可用数据来研究经济影响。我们举例说明，收费的实施导致了轻质袋的使用急剧下降，总体上减少了塑料袋的生产和销售，同时避免了对相关经济部门的重大影响。