Plastic bag bans have spread across cities worldwide, but I'm not convinced they actually reduce waste. When I visited San Francisco last year, I saw more plastic straws and packaging than ever, and people just bought thicker 'reusable' bags they threw away anyway. The real problem is that we produce too much single-use plastic overall, not just bags. So, do these symbolic bans genuinely help the environment, or are they just making us feel better without fixing the root issue?