California governor signs law banning plastic grocery bags

FILE – A plastic bag sits along a roadside in Sacramento, Calif., Oct. 25, 2013. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill banning plastic bags from being provided at grocery stores, in a move supporters say will help reduce a major source of waste. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

LOS ANGELES – California Gov. Gavin Newsom Sunday signed a bill banning plastic bags from being provided at grocery stores, in a move supporters say will help reduce a major source of waste.

Senate Bill 1053 was co-authored by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, and Sen. Catherine Smith Blakespear, D-Encinitas, whose 38th District also includes parts of south Orange County.

It goes further than SB 270, passed in 2014, which banned so-called single-use bags but still allowed grocery stores to provide plastic bags to customers if they were reusable and recyclable.

However, many observers said consumers did not wind up re-using the thicker bags. According to CalRecycle, the amount of grocery and merchandise bags disposed by Californians grew from 157,385 tons of plastic bags the year California passed the partial ban to 231,072 tons by 2022 — a 47 percent  increase.

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“I thank Governor Newsom for signing this important legislation that will help protect California’s environment,” Blakespear said in a statement Sunday. “Instead of being asked do you want paper or plastic at checkout, consumers will simply be asked if they want a paper bag, if they haven’t brought a reusable bag. This straightforward approach is easy to follow and will help dramatically reduce plastic bag pollution.”

The new law does not restrict the separate sale of any type of bag, but it mandates that only paper bags or a used bag brought by a customer can be available at checkout counters.
The law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. (CNS)

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