Why Plastic Bag Bans Fail: Insights from California, New Jersey, and New Mexico
Politicians often demonstrate a troubling pattern: when a policy fails, instead of repealing it, they swiftly move on to imposing additional restrictive measures.
Take, for example, plastic bag bans. New Jersey implemented a statewide ban in 2020, but rather than achieving its environmental goals, research shows that the ban led to increased CO2 emissions and higher plastic consumption. The increase wasn’t marginal—it was significant.
Similarly, the left-leaning Los Angeles Times editorial board has highlighted the failure of California’s plastic bag ban. In 2014, California disposed of approximately 157,385 tons of plastic bag waste. By 2022, that figure had risen to about 231,072 tons—an increase of nearly 50%.
Despite this clear failure, California has not moved to repeal the ban. Instead, the state is poised to enact another plastic bag ban, hoping that a second attempt will rectify the shortcomings of the first. As the editorial suggests, “We need a do-over—a second plastic bag ban that fulfills the promise lawmakers made in 2014.”
New Mexico has yet to impose a statewide plastic bag ban, though individual cities like Las Cruces and Santa Fe have their own bans. Albuquerque previously had one but has since repealed it. Other cities and counties across the state have also adopted their own plastic bag restrictions.
