Maybe you have been annoyed by the extra charge to get a plastic shopping bag, but a new study shows the policies actually help clean up shorelines.

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.

Charging for plastic shopping bags can actually lead to cleaner beaches, study shows. The study suggests full bans and fees on plastic bags are more effective than partial bans .

The decision to eliminate plastic shopping bags will prevent almost 4,400 tons, or nearly 9 million pounds of plastic, from entering circulation annually, according to Aldi.

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.

Tiny pieces of plastic that break off from shopping bags and packaging blamed for rise of deadly superbugs. By LUKE CHAFER. Published: 20:41 EDT, 18 January 2025 | Updated: 05:41 EDT, 20 January 2025 ...

"Paper or plastic" will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans all plastic shopping bags.

The measure, which mandated a charge on all single-use plastic bags in supermarkets, came into force in October 2015.