Plastic bags littering the shoreline is a common sight on beaches around the world. CREDIT: Prasit Photo via Getty Images. Get the Popular Science daily newsletter ...

According to a United Nations paper and media reports analyzed by Statista, 91 countries and territories in the world have passed some sort of full or partial ban on plastic bags. While plastic bag ...

*Starting January 1, 2026, California will no longer allow any plastic carryout bags at store checkouts. This includes both thin single-use bags and thicker “reusable” plastic bags, which had been ...

California is banning single-use plastic bags at grocery stores and other retailers, after an earlier ban was blamed for making the waste problem worse. Here, a worker pulls a plastic bag from a ...

Results are in for the first year of Philadelphia’s plastic bag ban. A study estimates the policy eliminated over 200 million plastic bags in the city — enough to fill City Hall every eight months.

Over the past decade, many cities and states across the country have passed plastic bag bans and taxes in an effort to curb plastic pollution. While it still may be too early to gather definitive data ...

Two Washington State University economists recommend the state eliminate its ban on single-use plastic bags, incurring the criticism of government regulators. WSU professors Eric Jessup and Jake ...

Plastic bag bans and fees have spread across the United States, and new research show they're doing a good job at cutting down on litter, although some rules work better than others. In places where ...

Thirteen states across the country have enacted bans on "single-use" plastic bags, with upwards of 500 cities doing the same. More could be on the way. Environmental groups claim that these bags are ...