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When it comes to the climate, a new study has found that small daily changes are having a large-scale positive impact.
In an era where climate headlines often lean toward catastrophe, a rare dose of optimism has emerged. A new multinational study has found that plastic bag bans and fees are having a tangible, measurable impact –coastal litter from plastic bags has nearly halved in regions where these policies are enforced.
Despite the widespread adoption of plastic bag policies worldwide, there’s been limited data on their impact up to this point.
This latest study, by peer-reviewed journal Science, looked at the relationship between policies on plastic bags and the litter collected on more than 45,000 shoreline cleanups.
While the issues caused by plastic bag use aren’t being reversed by strategies like bans and charges, researchers did find that they were having a significantly positive effect.
‘Most of these bans and fees don’t cover every type of plastic bag’ Kimberly Oremus, of the study’s authors and a professor at the University of Delaware, told The Washington Post.
‘There’s a lot of exceptions to them. It really depends on the state.’
Across North America alone, policies range from ‘bag taxes’ or fees on customers using plastic bags, to all-out bans – but these tend to prioritise thin plastic bags (which are more likely to blow away) rather than thick, durable alternatives.
The research also cautions that because plastic pollution continues to grow overall, there’s only so much policies can do to make a dent in the trend.
Using data from shoreline cleanups between 2016 and 2023, the study sought to measure the effectiveness of these policies – lead author Anna Papp said that one of the key findings was ‘the difference between broad policies, which appeared to limit plastic litter, versus partial bans, which resulted in the smallest and least precise effects.’
There was evidence that implementing bag fees was more effective than all-out bans, but researchers said that – in the US – fees are much less common and that more research is needed to assess their relative effectiveness.
‘It’s definitely less bad than without the policies,’ Papp said.
This might not sound like the most life-altering outcome – but it sends a powerful message to those of us who’ve tirelessly rinsed out tins and swapped plastic straws to paper with little tangible reward.
