California has so many problems that Gov. Gavin Newsom decided to tackle…plastic bags.
No grocery store in California can offer plastic bags:
California had already banned thin plastic shopping bags at supermarkets and other stores, but shoppers could purchase bags made with a thicker plastic that purportedly made them reusable and recyclable.The new measure, approved by state legislators last month, bans all plastic shopping bags starting in 2026. Consumers who don’t bring their own bags will now simply be asked if they want a paper bag.State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, one of the bill’s supporters, said people were not reusing or recycling any plastic bags. She pointed to a state study that found that the amount of plastic shopping bags trashed per person grew from 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) per year in 2004 to 11 pounds (5 kilograms) per year in 2021.Blakespear, a Democrat from Encinitas, said the previous bag ban passed a decade ago didn’t reduce the overall use of plastic.“We are literally choking our planet with plastic waste,” she said in February.
The law goes into effect on January 1, 2026.
The law only bans plastic bags at the checkout. Customers can still use the bags offered for produce or meat.
Starting January 1, 2028, the state will also define a recycled paper bag as “one with more than 50% recycled material.”
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