As of early 2026, twelve states have implemented statewide bans on single-use plastic bags, with additional restrictions on foam containers and hotel toiletries gaining traction. Extended producer responsibility laws now cover packaging waste in seven states, shifting costs from taxpayers to producers. However, preemption laws in several states limit local actions, and the U.S. lags behind the EU and parts of Asia in comprehensive plastic regulation.
State and local efforts to curb single-use plastic pollution are progressing in the United States, though federal inaction and industry opposition pose hurdles. Twelve states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington—have enacted statewide bans on single-use plastic bags as of January 2026. Hawaii's coverage comes through county-level ordinances. U.S. territories including American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands also have such bans. Most of these states permit paper bags for fees ranging from 5 to 12 cents; Washington's 2026 updates include a 12-cent fee for plastic film carryout bags and 8 cents for recycled paper bags.
California's SB 1053, passed in 2026, closed a loophole by eliminating all plastic checkout bags, including thicker "reusable" ones. CalRecycle data indicated that plastic grocery bag disposal tonnage rose 47% from 2014 to 2022 under prior rules. Research in the journal Science from June 2025 shows that about one-third of Americans reside in areas with some plastic bag policy. That study, based on over 600 policies and 45,067 shoreline cleanups from 2007 to 2023, found bag bans and fees reduced plastic bags in litter by 25% to 47%. Key insights include growing benefits over time, greater effectiveness of fees over bans, stronger impacts from statewide versus local policies, weaker results from partial bans, and a 30–37% drop in entangled animals at cleanup sites.
Restrictions extend beyond bags. Virginia's polystyrene foam container ban for all food vendors starts July 1, 2026, following an initial phase for larger chains. New York expanded its foam ban in January 2026 to include cold storage items like coolers. Delaware, Rhode Island, and Oregon have similar foam foodware bans. Several states—New York, Illinois, and Washington—bar large hotels from providing small plastic shampoo and lotion bottles, while California's SB 2960 extends this to all hotels from January 2026. Oregon's SB 551, enacted in May 2025, will phase out such containers in hotels with 50 or more rooms by 2027 and require food service places to provide single-use utensils or condiments only on request starting this July.
Seven states have adopted extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging: Maine and Oregon in 2021, Colorado and California in 2022, Minnesota in 2024, and Maryland and Washington in 2025. These shift waste management costs to producers. Preemption laws, however, block local initiatives in 17 states, with full bans on local plastic taxes or prohibitions in 10, including Florida, Texas, Ohio, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, and Missouri. Groups like the American Progressive Bag Alliance and the American Legislative Exchange Council support such measures.
Internationally, the U.S. trails the European Union's Single-Use Plastics Directive, enforced since 2021, which bans items like plastic cutlery and straws across 27 member states and sets targets such as 77% separate collection for plastic bottles by 2025. The EU achieves 60% average collection versus the U.S.'s 28.1%, with 42% of its 35.3 kg per capita plastic packaging waste recycled in 2023. In Asia, China banned non-degradable bags nationwide in 2022 and completed phased packaging restrictions by late 2025, introducing nine new recycled plastics standards in February 2026. South Korea mandates 10% recycled PET in clear beverage bottles from January 2026, aiming for 30% by 2030. The UN's plastics treaty negotiations adjourned without agreement in Geneva in August 2025.
Looking ahead, EPR bills are pending in Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and New Jersey. Bag ban expansions are under consideration in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Virginia, and Hawaii, with Oregon tightening its rules by 2027. California's SB 343 will limit the chasing arrows recycling symbol to truly recyclable products from October 2026. Maine's PFAS ban in food packaging begins May 2026. Each American uses about 365 single-use plastic bags annually, and only 9% of all plastic produced has been recycled.
