evidence: One of the main (avoidable) sources of plastic waste in South Africa are the eight billion single-use plastic carrier bags (henceforth just plastic bags) consumed annually, mainly provided by retail supermarkets to their customers (O'Brien and Thondhlana, 2019).1 To regulate their consumption the South African government imposed a plastic bag levy in 2003. However, the positive effects were only short-term (Dikgang et al., 2012).2 As an additional measure, the South African government introduced a regulation demanding a hundred percent recycled content requirement for plastic bags by 2027 (Department for Environment, 2020). Nevertheless, regulations governing the constitution of plastic bags might not impact consumption (Hasson et al., 2007). If plastic bags continue to be used in large numbers and continue to receive inadequate end-of-life treatment, they will remain a major environmental issue no matter if the bag contains recycled content (Adeyanju et al., 2021). Thus, further attempts to resolve the issue are necessary, to create a sustainable and comprehensive solution for plastic bag waste in South Africa. [...] BBC (2002). Irish Bag Tax Hailed Success. BBC. Available online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2205419.stm (accessed May 02, 2023). [...] Dikgang, J., Leiman, A., and Visser, M. (2012). Analysis of the plastic-bag levy in South Africa. Resour Conserv. Recycl. 66, 59–65. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2012.06.009