Thanks to bans and fees, there are fewer plastic bags littering beaches

It turns out eliminating the “paper or plastic” question through plastic bag regulation is effectively reducing the number of bags found in shoreline litter across the United States. 

A new analysis of shoreline cleanup data finds that areas with plastic bag bans or consumer fees have fewer bags turning up in their litter. The research offers some of the strongest evidence yet that regulating plastic bag use makes a difference in reducing the amount of plastic waste in marine ecosystems.