Mary O’Loughlin - Fulbright U.S. Student to China
Home Institution: Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Grant Dates: September 2009 - July 2010
Making Recycling Their Bag: China’s War on Plastic Bags
Mary O’Loughlin (second from left), with two fellow Fulbright U.S. Student Program grantees (Allison Waid, left, Bo Peng, right) and the U.S. Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman (center), at the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan in spring 2010.
On September 2, 2009, I arrived in Wuhan, China to begin my Fulbright research on Chinese environmental public policy. Arguably the biggest city in the world that few have ever heard of, Wuhan is a 10-million person metropolis located in central China on the Yangtze River. As the only city occupying both banks of China’s longest river, its location on the Yangtze has long ensured its importance as a production and transit point connecting the eastern and western portions of the country. In recent decades, Wuhan has become particularly well-known as a steel and manufacturing center as well as an educational hub.
While in Wuhan, I studied China’s environmental policy through the lens of its policy on plastic bags. The inspiration for this seemingly obscure research topic was that on June 1, 2008, the Chinese government introduced a nationwide ban on the free distribution of plastic bags in retail outlets. According to this ban, any Chinese store that wanted to offer its customers a plastic bag would have to charge them for it. This policy’s introduction represented an important effort to reduce plastic waste in China and a means to promote environmental awareness. A “price tag” was literally going to be associated with material consumption involving plastic bags. My Fulbright research sought to evaluate the implementation, enforcement, and effects of this policy.
Thanks to the Fulbright Program, I had the opportunity to explore China’s application of this new environmental regulation firsthand. My research involved interviewing local shopkeepers and customers about their initial reactions to the bag policy, meeting with Chinese environmental experts (and discussing plastic bag usage in China with them), and collecting quantitative data and observational research about Chinese plastic bag consumption. By having a unique opportunity to be on the ground and “in-country,” I was able to witness firsthand how the government implemented its policy and the population’s response. Through my study, I have come to better understand and appreciate the practical implementation and enforcement limits associated with even the most well-intentioned Chinese environmental law.
In addition to my research, I met an amazing variety of people from all walks of Chinese life in Wuhan. I attended classes on U.S.-Sino relations taught by Chinese professors from a completely Chinese perspective. I engaged in discussions with Chinese classmates and friends about the differences between our two countries’ political and economic systems, what those differences will mean for our countries’ respective futures, and shared projections of our nations’ future relations. I gave informal talks to local Chinese students on a variety of topics ranging from my plastic bag research, to applying to college in the U.S., to general reflections on life in America. Through these regular exchanges, I came to better understand China’s people, history, and language. These exchanges gave me a chance to share a little bit about my own country and culture, and to develop meaningful cross-cultural friendships.
I completed my Fulbright grant on July 2, 2010. However, my study of China’s environmental public policy has only just begun. Upon returning to the U.S., I spent the rest of my summer collating research and writing an article summarizing my findings. **
Now, living and working in Washington, DC, I plan to continue to apply what I learned about China’s plastic bag policy by promoting awareness about the risks that plastic bag overconsumption poses to environmental stability, as well as by promoting the use of alternative bag and packaging materials. Although I am no longer living on Chinese soil, I intend to maintain my connection to China not only through my work, but by engaging with DC’s Chinese community.
Though my Fulbright grant has come to an end, my research and interest in it – has only just begun. I am extremely grateful to the Fulbright Program for giving me the chance to embark on a lifelong path of discovery about Chinese culture. And, for anyone reading this who is considering applying for a Fulbright to China (or any other country), my advice would be: stop considering it and just do it! You will not be disappointed. It is truly the chance of a lifetime.
**For anyone particularly curious about plastic bag use in China, you are welcome to view the abstract and complete text of my article on my Social Science Research Network (SSRN) page
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This article originally appeared in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program Blog.
To the U.S.-China Fulbright Program