One in three U.S. residents are seeing less single-use plastic bags due to new policies, according to research published in Science on Thursday, June 19. Researchers found that bans and fees reduced plastic bags in beach trash, especially those charging fees, compared to areas without policies.
California’s Senate Bill 270, passed in 2014, made it the first U.S. state to ban single-use plastic shopping bags in many retail settings. The study indicates that effective environmental legislation can significantly reduce plastic pollution and its harm to marine life, as noted by researchers Anna Papp and Kimberly Oremus.
