In general, plastic bag bans aren’t perfect, wrote policy analyst John Hite for the Conservation Law Foundation, but they’re a good start. Hite pointed out that, even in studies showing that plastic bag bans increased purchases of thicker trash bags and paper bags, the bans consistently decreased the overall use of single-use plastic bags. Additionally, these studies also found that the bans were actually not strict enough — that they needed taxes and other fees to work more efficiently. Therefore, he considers the bans a small stepping stone; the beginning of reducing our reliance on plastic, not the end.
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