Latest news with #plasticbags
The Independent
4 hours ago
- Science
- The Independent
Study reveals important benefit of charging for plastic bags
A new study published in the journal Science indicates that local plastic bag bans and fees are effective in reducing plastic bag litter along shorelines. The research found a 25 to 47 per cent decrease in plastic bag litter during shoreline cleanups, with the most significant impact observed along lakes. The study highlights that full bans and fees are more effective than partial bans, which often include exemptions for thicker plastic bags. Experts, including Anna Papp from MIT and environmental scientist Dr. Zoie Diana, confirm that these policies reliably lead to a decrease in plastic bag litter. Plastic bag regulations are gaining global popularity, with over 100 countries implementing them and 175 countries discussing a global plastics treaty, while in the US, 11 states and over 200 counties have adopted such measures.
The Independent
14 hours ago
- Science
- The Independent
Charging for plastic shopping bags can actually lead to cleaner beaches, study shows
Plastic bag bans and fees are actually working to help decrease litter along shorelines, researchers reveal. Local laws enforcing bans or fees for plastic shopping bags are associated with a 25 to 47 percent decrease in plastic bag litter found during shoreline cleanups, according to a new study in the peer-reviewed journal Science. The researchers found a decrease in plastic bags along all bodies of water, but the evidence suggests plastic bag regulations have the largest effect along lakes. The study also shows that some plastic bag regulations are more effective than others. Full bans and fees are more effective than partial bans, likely because of exemptions for thicker plastic bags, the authors wrote. Anna Papp, one of the authors and an environmental economist and postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told The New York Times the study shows plastic bag litter reliably decreases when local lawmakers implement regulations. 'This is not a once-in-time snapshot of plastic litter, but really is something that keeps happening again and again,' Papp said. Environmental scientist Dr. Zoie Diana told the Times the study shows that this decrease in plastic bag litter 'wouldn't have happened policies are working.' Plastic bag bans and fees are growing in popularity. More than 100 countries regulate the bags, and 175 countries are in talks to create the first-ever global plastics treaty, according to the study. In the U.S., at least 11 states have banned plastic bags altogether, and more than 200 counties have implemented bans or regulations. Dr. Erin Murphy, manager of Ocean Plastics Research for the Ocean Conservancy, told CNN that plastic bags are more dangerous to marine life than other types of litter. That's because they're lightweight and can be blown into the environment more easily, Murphy noted. Plastic bags can also kill animals that eat them or become entangled in them. 'They're hard to recycle, they're single-use, and they're lightweight, and so they blow very easily in the wind,' she told CNN. 'Even if we're trying to properly manage them, it's easy for them to escape waste management systems and get into the environment.'
CBS News
18 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Do plastic bag bans and fees work? A new study says policies curb litter
State and local policies to regulate the use of plastic bags have significantly reduced how many of them are found littered along U.S. shorelines — potentially cutting that type of waste in half in certain places, a new study published Thursday in the journal Science found. 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 led to fewer discarded bags found near coastlines, rivers and lakes – and if they did, to what extent. Co-authors environmental economist Anna Papp and Kimberly Oremus, a marine science and policy professor at the University of Delaware, found that the number of plastic bags collected as shoreline litter in places with bag policies dropped by at least 25%, and up to 47% over six years than in locations that did not have regulations. "When we found the database that had information on different shoreline cleanups, we realized we could look at the composition of litter before and after a policy to see what effect it had," Oremus said in a statement. "And then we could compare that to places that never got a plastic bag policy." These results bring fresh insights to an issue that gained prominence over the last decade or so, as awareness spread about the harms of plastic pollution and its threats to marine environments. Oremus said it's the first attempt to comprehensively review the effectiveness of plastic bag policies on shoreline litter, using a database of global shoreline cleanup initiatives from the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy. A plastic bag on the banks of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., on March 21, 2019. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images Since 2018, more than 100 countries around the world have implemented some form of policy to either ban or limit the use of plastic bags, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Program. The U.S. doesn't have a federal bag policy, but individual towns, cities and states have policies of their own. Some states, like New York, have completely banned retailers from distributing plastic bags. Others, like Washington, passed partial bans in recent years, where thinner plastic bags deemed "single use" are prohibited, but thicker plastic bags are not. Oremus and Papp noted in the study that, although those thicker bags are usually considered "reusable" under partial bans, "there is evidence that some consumers still treat them as single-use." In multiple states without bans, local jurisdictions such as counties have taken steps to regulate plastic bag use. For example, Arlington County, Virginia, requires stores to collect a fee from customers who purchase plastic bags, at 5 cents per bag. But 17 states prevent plastic bag regulations even at the county level, with statewide "preemption" laws in place to ensure the distribution of these bags isn't regulated at all. During the study period, plastic bag litter was collected less often in shoreline cleanups that took place in areas where some form of regulation existed to curb their distribution and use, the authors said. "Our findings make clear that plastic bag policies have been broadly effective in limiting—but not eliminating—shoreline plastic bag debris in jurisdictions where it was previously prevalent," Oremus and Papp wrote in the study. They also found evidence that suggests fees on plastic bags are more effective at limiting shoreline litter than bans, especially partial bans, but understanding why would require more research.
CNN
19 hours ago
- Health
- CNN
Plastic shopping bag policies are actually working, a new study suggests
Sign up for CNN's Life, But Greener newsletter. Our limited newsletter series guides you on how to minimize your personal role in the climate crisis — and reduce your eco-anxiety. 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. 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. Plastic litter is a big risk to the health of marine ecosystems, and the problem is growing, said lead study author Dr. Anna Papp, an environmental economist and incoming postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The United States has no federal-level policy on plastic bags, so researchers analyzed 180 local programs, including full bans, fees on shopping bags and partial bans –– which sometimes have special regulations such as requiring thicker plastics to make shopping bags reusable. Researchers then analyzed data from more than 45,000 US shoreline cleanups to compare the litter before and after the policy was passed as well as the differences between areas with and without a policy, Papp said. 'The main finding is that these policies led to a decrease in plastic bags as a share of total items collected,' she said. Other studies have shown that plastic bag policies affect how many bags consumers use, said Dr. Erin Murphy, manager of Ocean Plastics Research for the Ocean Conservancy. But this most recent research 'really takes it to the next level, showing it's not only reducing the amount of bags we're using, but it's actually achieving our broader objectives of environmental cleanliness,' she said. Plastic bag pollution is harmful to both animals and humans. On beaches or other outdoor spaces, plastic pollution can have a negative impact on tourism or the value of spending time in nature, Papp said. Plastic bag litter is particularly dangerous to marine animals for two reasons, Murphy said. First, they enter the environment more easily than other types of plastic. 'They're hard to recycle, they're single-use, and they're lightweight, and so they blow very easily in the wind. Even if we're trying to properly manage them, it's easy for them to escape waste management systems and get into the environment,' she said. Second, once they enter the environment, plastic bags can lead to population-level effects on marine species, Murphy said. Many species, including marine mammals and sea turtles, will eat the plastic bags, obstructing the gastrointestinal tract and preventing them from eating until they die, she said. Plastic bags can also entangle wildlife, keeping hatchling sea turtles from reaching the ocean and shading coral reefs, all of which can lead to disease and death for marine species. 'In 2024 alone, our International Coastal Cleanup volunteers cleaned up over 500,000 grocery bags from the environment and 500,000 other plastic bags, totaling more than a million different plastic bag types from the environment,' Murphy said. 'They're always in our top 10 items found in the environment, and that alone is an issue.' While bans and fees on plastic bags are helping, they are not eradicating the problem, Papp said. 'Plastic pollution is a growing global problem,' she said. 'The overall percentage of plastic bags is still increasing … This increase is just slower in places with policies.' The evidence suggests some policies are more effective than others: Full bans made a bigger impact than partial bans, and fees seemed better than bans, said study coauthor Dr. Kimberly Oremus, an associate professor at the University of Delaware School of Marine Science and Policy. 'One hypothesis is that in at least some cases, the revenue from fees is being used to further reduce litter. In Washington, DC, for example, they use the revenue from plastic bag fees to clean up river shorelines,' Oremus said. However, the hypothesis has not been investigated, and there is not yet enough data to say for sure that fees are more effective than bans, she said. More must likely be done outside of these policies as well, Papp said. The United States needs regulations not just on the consumption of plastic bags but also on the production and supply of them, she added. There are also steps you can take so your plastic shopping bag doesn't end up in the environment, Papp said. For one, if you do use a plastic bag, don't let it fly away and create litter. Then, properly dispose of it — for example, you can take it to a plastic bag recycling station, she said. And you can always go back to the three R's, said Dr. Rebecca Taylor, an assistant professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. Reduce the number of plastic bags you use, reuse them when you can and recycle them when you must.
CNN
19 hours ago
- Health
- CNN
Plastic shopping bag policies are actually working, a new study suggests
Sign up for CNN's Life, But Greener newsletter. Our limited newsletter series guides you on how to minimize your personal role in the climate crisis — and reduce your eco-anxiety. 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. 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. Plastic litter is a big risk to the health of marine ecosystems, and the problem is growing, said lead study author Dr. Anna Papp, an environmental economist and incoming postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The United States has no federal-level policy on plastic bags, so researchers analyzed 180 local programs, including full bans, fees on shopping bags and partial bans –– which sometimes have special regulations such as requiring thicker plastics to make shopping bags reusable. Researchers then analyzed data from more than 45,000 US shoreline cleanups to compare the litter before and after the policy was passed as well as the differences between areas with and without a policy, Papp said. 'The main finding is that these policies led to a decrease in plastic bags as a share of total items collected,' she said. Other studies have shown that plastic bag policies affect how many bags consumers use, said Dr. Erin Murphy, manager of Ocean Plastics Research for the Ocean Conservancy. But this most recent research 'really takes it to the next level, showing it's not only reducing the amount of bags we're using, but it's actually achieving our broader objectives of environmental cleanliness,' she said. Plastic bag pollution is harmful to both animals and humans. On beaches or other outdoor spaces, plastic pollution can have a negative impact on tourism or the value of spending time in nature, Papp said. Plastic bag litter is particularly dangerous to marine animals for two reasons, Murphy said. First, they enter the environment more easily than other types of plastic. 'They're hard to recycle, they're single-use, and they're lightweight, and so they blow very easily in the wind. Even if we're trying to properly manage them, it's easy for them to escape waste management systems and get into the environment,' she said. Second, once they enter the environment, plastic bags can lead to population-level effects on marine species, Murphy said. Many species, including marine mammals and sea turtles, will eat the plastic bags, obstructing the gastrointestinal tract and preventing them from eating until they die, she said. Plastic bags can also entangle wildlife, keeping hatchling sea turtles from reaching the ocean and shading coral reefs, all of which can lead to disease and death for marine species. 'In 2024 alone, our International Coastal Cleanup volunteers cleaned up over 500,000 grocery bags from the environment and 500,000 other plastic bags, totaling more than a million different plastic bag types from the environment,' Murphy said. 'They're always in our top 10 items found in the environment, and that alone is an issue.' While bans and fees on plastic bags are helping, they are not eradicating the problem, Papp said. 'Plastic pollution is a growing global problem,' she said. 'The overall percentage of plastic bags is still increasing … This increase is just slower in places with policies.' The evidence suggests some policies are more effective than others: Full bans made a bigger impact than partial bans, and fees seemed better than bans, said study coauthor Dr. Kimberly Oremus, an associate professor at the University of Delaware School of Marine Science and Policy. 'One hypothesis is that in at least some cases, the revenue from fees is being used to further reduce litter. In Washington, DC, for example, they use the revenue from plastic bag fees to clean up river shorelines,' Oremus said. However, the hypothesis has not been investigated, and there is not yet enough data to say for sure that fees are more effective than bans, she said. More must likely be done outside of these policies as well, Papp said. The United States needs regulations not just on the consumption of plastic bags but also on the production and supply of them, she added. There are also steps you can take so your plastic shopping bag doesn't end up in the environment, Papp said. For one, if you do use a plastic bag, don't let it fly away and create litter. Then, properly dispose of it — for example, you can take it to a plastic bag recycling station, she said. And you can always go back to the three R's, said Dr. Rebecca Taylor, an assistant professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. Reduce the number of plastic bags you use, reuse them when you can and recycle them when you must.
