California Governor Enacts Law Prohibiting Plastic Shopping Bags in Grocery Stores

On September 22, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom enacted a law banning plastic shopping bags in grocery stores, effective January 1, 2026. This legislation aims to address the growing concerns of plastic pollution and its detrimental effects on the environment The new law prohibits not only thin plastic bags but also thicker reusable ones that were previously permitted. Instead, customers who do not bring their own bags will be offered paper bags at checkout for a fee .

So far, California's governor has signed bills banning all plastic bags at grocery stores, enhancing protections for renters, streamlining housing laws and more.

He's also rejected some, such as a bill that would have made undocumented immigrants eligible for home loans under a state program.

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, said the previous bag ban passed a decade ago didn’t reduce the overall use of plastic.

The California Legislature passed its statewide ban on plastic bags in 2014. The law was later affirmed by voters in a 2016 referendum.

The California Public Interest Research Group said Sunday that the new law finally meets the intent of the original bag ban.

“Plastic bags create pollution in our environment and break into microplastics that contaminate our drinking water and threaten our health,” said the group’s director Jenn Engstrom. “Californians voted to ban plastic grocery bags in our state almost a decade ago, but the law clearly needed a redo. With the Governor’s signature, California has finally banned plastic bags in grocery checkout lanes once and for all.”

The ban “solidifies California as a leader in tackling the global plastic pollution crisis,” Oceana’s Plastics Campaign Director Christy Leavitt said, praising lawmakers for “safeguarding California’s coastline, marine life, and communities from single-use plastic grocery bags.”

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Sarah H

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