U.S. coastal areas with plastic bag bans or fees saw significant reductions in plastic bag pollution — but plastic waste as a ...

Maybe you have been annoyed by the extra charge to get a plastic shopping bag, but a new study shows the policies actually help clean up shorelines.

They found areas that adopted plastic bag policies saw a 25 to 47 percent reduction in the share of plastic bag litter on shorelines, when compared with areas without policies. The longer a policy ...

More than 600 bag policies, along with records from more than 45,000 shoreline cleanups between 2017 and 2023, were reviewed by researchers to see whether implementing bans or fees on plastic bags ...

The researchers found that plastic bag policies led to a 25% to 47% decrease in plastic bags as a share of total items collected in shoreline cleanups relative to areas without policies. This decrease ...

Plastic bag bans and fees in the US are associated with a 25%–47% reduction in plastic bags found during shoreline cleanups compared to areas without such policies.

Policies that ban or impose fees on plastic bags are associated with a 25% to 47% decrease in plastic bag litter in shoreline cleanups, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science.

The earliest plastic bag policies in the U.S. were implemented around 2007, researchers say, but an uptick in the mid-2010s more directly led to the policies analyzed in the study.

A new study finds plastic bag regulations cut shoreline litter by up to 47%. Policies like bans or fees significantly reduced waste across U.S. coastal areas.

That extra fee at the grocery store for a plastic shopping bag isn’t just an inconvenience –– it is actually making a difference for marine ecosystems, according to a new study.

That extra fee at the grocery store for a plastic shopping bag isn’t just an inconvenience –– it is actually making a difference for marine ecosystems, according to a new study.

A 2024 research report found that “In the last 20 years, 12 states covering more than one-quarter of the U.S. population have prioritized reducing plastic waste by banning plastic bags.” ...