I am all for complete and absolute ban on plastic bags.
I've seen some people start using those durable big bags as disposable ones instead of basic plastics in many areas where normal bags weren't available, causing potentially over a hundred times more energy to be consumed and thrown away, the opposite of what was wanted
A plastic bag that is used as a garbage bag, on the other hand, will remain where it is because its contents weigh it down.
I'm not sure how to solve this, though. Perhaps standardizing the size of these bags to make them easily usable as garbage bags, and then marking them to indicate reuse, would be helpful.
People really did adapt by bringing their own bags.
(I live in suburb hell -- unfortunately, I'm probably the only person who walks to the grocery store, so car use is unaffected)
Maybe it is just my family, but in Eastern Europe, my family and some people do the same. We have re-usable bags that are not made out of plastic, but fabric, and we re-use them every time we shop. The reason for this is that bags are too expensive for what they are, so we do not continue re-buying them due to their high costs. No ban in place from what I know.
I always keep a bag on me that folds up quite small. It’s a change but easy to adapt to.
Just last night we were having family pizza night and realized we didn't have mushrooms. Grabbed a reusable bag -- one that I have used dozens to hundreds of times -- and stuffed it in my pocket and hopped on my bike to the grocery store.
It is an utter non-issue. Indeed, in that case I would never have trusted a classic thin plastic bag but the heavy duty reusable one gives me no concern when it's swinging on my handle as I biked home.
When we first got rid of plastic bags here in Ontario, Canada, early on I'd often find myself at a store with no bags, so I went through the period of accumulation. Not to mention that a lot of stores went through a malicious compliance where the bags they sold were terrible and barely lasted more than one use.
Eventually habits changed and now we as a family pretty much never get new bags, and the options stores sell are significantly better, and are truly reusable.
And like someone else said, plastic bags (and plastic straws for that matter) were an absolute scourge, litter wise. Antisocial litterers, blowing out of garbage, etc. Now I never see them. From an environmental perspective -- meaning I like walking my neighbourhood without seeing trash blowing around -- it is a massive improvement.
We tried public awareness campaigns, major environmental and educational groups were part of it, celebrities and television personalities held galas on prime time which some estimated 40% of the population tuned into, frequent ad campaigns, via sports clubs and scouting, lobbying, partnering with ski resorts.
It barely worked. Plastic pollution still increased.
Plastic: <8% reusability via energy-intensive melting and re-shaping.
Glass: >95% reusability via washing, and of the remaining 50% > 99% can be reused via melting and re-shaping.
Over the average lifespan of a glass flask (n≈18 million), it released about 40% less CO2 equivalents compared to the amount of plastic needed to fulfil the same role.
p.s. today I had to buy plastic water bottle for the first time in years. The reason - no water fountain in the park I was visiting. Easiest way to stop it to make alternatives available and affordable.