Particle.news
Download on the App Store
10 ARTICLES
·
21h ago

Plastic Bag Bans Slash Shoreline Litter by Up to 47 Percent

Statewide bans yield sharper cuts in shoreline bag litter than local measures

Plastic bags can prevent sea turtle hatchlings from making it to the ocean, Murphy said.
Plastic bags littering the shoreline is a common sight on beaches around the world.
Plastic bags are particularly dangerous because they so easily fly away and enter marine ecosystems, experts said.
Image

Overview

  • A new Science paper found that jurisdictions with bag bans or fees saw 25 to 47 percent fewer plastic bags as a share of total items in over 45,000 US shoreline cleanups.
  • State-level bans delivered more robust reductions than municipal or county policies, with no evidence of litter displacement to neighboring areas.
  • In many cases, fees on plastic bags generated larger declines in shoreline bag litter than outright bans, potentially driven by fee-funded cleanup efforts or broader retailer coverage.
  • Partial bans permitting thicker bags had the weakest impact; the policies were most effective in areas with the highest initial levels of bag litter.
  • Researchers caution that overall plastic pollution continues to rise and note that 175 countries are negotiating a global plastics treaty to seek more comprehensive solutions.