The standard market-based solution to reducing unwanted behavior is to place a tax on the unwanted behavior, causing people to want to do the unwanted stuff less (that's the law of demand). Here's a good example:
Customers at most stores in Baltimore would have to pay 10 cents for almost every bag they accept — whether paper or plastic — under legislation headed to the City Council for a vote next week.
The legislation — which would apply to most purchases at grocery stores and major retailers such as Target and Walmart — cleared a key council committee Tuesday.
The proposal is the latest in a decade-long effort against disposable bags that advocates say is intended to reduce litter and help the environment. Roughly 100 communities nationally, including Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, have banned plastic disposable sacks or imposed a fee on them.
And if you're one of the many who think "Pffft, $.10 ain't gonna change nothin' (that's how opponents of externality taxes talk), here ya' go:
In 2011, Wales started charging 5p per bag and saw a 71% drop in the number used by customers.
Scotland and Northern Ireland introduced their charges in 2014 and 2013 respectively and have also seen significant drops in usage.
In Scotland the charge was introduced in the final 11 weeks of 2014 and figures show a drop of 18% when compared with the statistics for the previous year. Similarly, in Northern Ireland in 2014 there was a 42.6% annual reduction following a previous drop of 71%, after the carrier bag charge was introduced.
Damn Brits!