It’s been more than a decade since California enacted a soft ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery stores and other businesses. In the coming year, that ban will become more strict as the thicker, potentially reusable plastic bags many consumers have gotten used to using (and paying for) are also being phased out.
But how effective are these plastic bag bans and the accompanying fees, which are meant to encourage reuse, paper bags or simply hand-carrying products out of a store?
That’s the question that researchers sought to solve in a new, peer-reviewed study posted in the Science Journal.
Two researchers from Columbia University and the University of Delaware used data collected by volunteers from more than 45,000 coastal cleanups to evaluate the effectiveness of these policies for the first time in any meaningful way.
Using a window of 2017 to 2023, they were able to note the measurable difference of plastic bag waste before and after the passage of laws, similar to California’s, in other states and jurisdictions.
“Our research design allowed us to control for the share of plastic bag litter in shoreline cleanups before and after each policy’s implementation as well as plastic bag litter trends from places that do not have a policy,” researchers write in Science.org.
Plastic bags generally accounted for a larger share of items being cleaned up throughout the study period, but the increase was “markedly less” in areas with plastic bag policies.
“We find that plastic bag policies lead to a 25 to 47% decrease in plastic bags as a share of total items collected relative to areas without policies,” researchers wrote. The bans were particularly effective in areas where plastic bag litter is already a significant problem.
Researchers also found that the results become more pronounced over time after the bag policies were put in place, indicating that the bans become more effective with age.
Researchers also noted that there was no evidence of a rebound, in which the percentage of bags being cleaned up returned to pre-ban figures, nor was there any evidence of “spillover effects,” which is a measurable unexpected impact in a seemingly unrelated area.
And the results aren’t just limited to coastal states like California. The bag policies appear to be similarly effective along rivers, and potentially have even greater impact on lakes.
And the reduction in these loose paper bags may also be good news for local animal populations. Researchers found an “imprecise” 30-37% reduction in animal entanglements in areas with plastic bag policies — although they stress they can’t say with complete certainty it’s directly related to the policies.
“Our findings demonstrate that plastic bag policies have been widely effective in limiting—but not eliminating—shoreline plastic bag debris in areas where it was previously prevalent,” researchers concluded.
If these results hold true on a wider scale, expanding plastic bag bans or fees would continue to decrease plastic bag litter and potentially protect wildlife from becoming entangled in human trash.
“Plastic debris entering waters will remain an important global problem in the absence of large-scale policy shifts.”
While California was ahead of the curve with its single-use plastic bag ban, the loophole that allows stores to sell thicker, “reusable” bags for $.10 handicapped its overall effectiveness, and may have even led to more plastic waste.
Areas where complete, outright bans are in place had much better results, researchers said.
That will all change in 2026, when California closes that loophole and shoppers will either have to pay for paper, carry out their items by hand, or bring a reusable bag into the store.
Ocean Conservancy is among the hundreds of groups that join in these coastal cleanups and have helped collect data for studies like this one.
Anja Brandon, the organization’s director of plastics policy, described plastic bags as a “menace to wildlife and among the most common pollutants on beaches and waterways.” She said specific policies are needed to target this type of waste specifically.
“Past Ocean Conservancy analysis has shown that bans are effective, but this peer-reviewed study confirms it loudly,” she said.
To read the study in its entirety, click here.
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