“Paper or plastic” will no longer be an option at grocery store checkout lines in California, thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday that bans all plastic shopping bags.
California had already outlawed thin plastic shopping bags from supermarkets and other retailers, but customers could still buy bags made of a stronger plastic that was said to be reusable and recyclable.
The new law, enacted by state legislators this month, prohibits all plastic shopping bags beginning in 2026. Customers who do not have their own bags will now be asked if they prefer a paper bag.
State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a measure backer, stated that people were not reusing or recycling plastic bags. She cited state research that found that the number of plastic shopping bags wasted per person increased from 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) per year in 2004 to 11 pounds (5 kilograms) per year by 2021.
Blakespear, a Democrat from Encinitas, claimed that the previous bag ban passed a decade ago, did not lower overall plastic use.
“We are choking our planet with plastic waste,” she remarked in February.
Oceana, an environmental charity, hailed Newsom for signing the bill and “protecting California’s coastline, marine life, and communities from single-use plastic grocery bags.”
Christy Leavitt, Oceana’s plastics campaign director, stated on Sunday that the new ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery store checkouts “solidifies California as a leader in tackling the global plastic pollution crisis.”
According to the environmental advocacy group Environment America Research & Policy Center, twelve states, including California, have already implemented statewide plastic bag bans. Hundreds of localities across 28 states have implemented their own plastic bag bans.
The California Legislature enacted a statewide ban on plastic bags in 2014. The measure was later approved by voters in a 2016 referendum.
The California Public Interest Research Group stated on Sunday that the new law finally reflects the original bag ban’s aim.
“Plastic bags pollute our environment and break down into microplastics, contaminating our drinking water and endangering our health,” said the group’s head, Jenn Engstrom. “Californians voted to ban plastic shopping bags in our state nearly a decade ago, but the law plainly needs to be revised. With the Governor’s signature, California has permanently outlawed plastic bags from grocery checkout lanes.”
As mayor of San Francisco in 2007, Newsom enacted the country’s first plastic bag ban.