Based on the primary photo of refuse in the article the problem is not plastic bags but garbage in general. My city (Portland, Oregon) outlawed plastic bags years ago and messy parts of the city are still messy while clean parts of the city are still clean. The bag-ban made no difference. Visiting neighboring Beaverton, where plastic bags are still allowed, one is not overwhelmed by a mass of plastic bags in the streets...

It has always been my understanding that if a store is going to provide disposable bags plastic bags are far superior - functionally and environmentally - to the alternative (generally paper):

http://www.appropedia.org/Paper_versus_plastic_bags

Problems with plastic bags:

1. clog up storm drains.

2. clog up the screens that water treatment plants use to filter out large debris.

3. degrade into micro particles that treatment plants can't easily remove.

4. mistaken for floating jellyfish by seabirds and fish and they get eaten and block the digestive tract.

5. degrade into microparticles which reenter the food chain.

6. plastics bond with other nasty chemicals to form even more toxic compounds

I love Morocco but I've taken a bunch of sad photos there of huge masses of carrier bags in otherwise idyllic spots. I'm really happy to hear this news.

Way to go, Morocco!!!

Bravo!