The success of bag bans

San Jose, California found that a 2011 ban instituted there has led to plastic litter reduction of “approximately 89 percent in the storm drain system, 60 percent in the creeks and rivers, and 59 percent in City streets and neighborhoods.”

Success of bag fees

Ireland: A plastic bag tax levied in Ireland in 2002 has reportedly led to a 95 percent reduction in plastic bag litter there

Plastic bag usage dropped 50% in Washington DC after five years of a $0.05 per plastic bag fee.

Bans are more common than fees

Of the 121 ordinances in the U.S., 6 (5%) impose a fee on plastic bags.

Places in the developing world have banned plastic bags, including China and India

The overall usage of bags

The average American family takes home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year. With 150,000 households, NOLA uses about 225,000,000 plastic bags per year.

The impact of the SNAP, WIC, and LaCap Exemption

Snap: 31,256/150,409 households = 20.8% of households would be exempt

WIC: there are 140,000 WIC participants in Louisiana. Assuming WIC participants are evenly distributed around the state, there are about 12,000 participants in New Orleans.

Other cities with fees:

• Portland, ME
• Montgomery County, MD
• Brownsville TX
• Boulder, CO
• Breckenridge, CO