A California bill will ban all plastic shopping bags in retail stores starting in 2026, according to the state Legislature’s announcement on Feb. 8, 2024.
State Legislature members found that California’s previous single-use plastic bag ban, enacted in 2014, was insufficient in curbing plastic waste. They pointed to CalRecycle reports that showed that average plastic waste per person grew from 8 pounds in 2004 to 11 pounds in 2021.
The 2014 law banned thin-filmed, single-use plastic bags, but thicker-filmed, reusable bags were exempt, according to Krystal Raynes, a policy associate at the environmental non-profit Californians Against Waste (CAW). Stores began distributing thicker-filmed, reusable bags, but most customers still often throw them away after one use.
“It’s time to improve on California’s original plastic bags ban and do it right this time by completely eliminating plastic bags from being used at grocery stores,” said Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who introduced the bill at a news conference.
This new bill aims to address the loopholes from the previous one.
“We’ve been looking at all this data and with our eyes and seeing that these thicker plastic bags are not being recycled. So, CAW wanted to pursue with some legislation. We were also a part of that original coalition to close this loophole and get California off of plastic single-use bags because, really, these thicker film reusable bags are not reusable nor recyclable,” Raynes said.
I don’t think that this is going to have the effect that they want either because it might lead to a large shift to paper bags, which is better but not ideal.
— Nikhil Nunna
Some people agree with the environmental benefits but still express concerns.
“I’d say it’s definitely a step in the right direction. I’m really happy they realize that the previous law didn’t really have the effect that they wanted. However, I don’t think that this is going to have the effect that they want either because it might lead to a large shift to paper bags, which is better but not ideal,” said Nikhil Nunna, the head of media of the Carlmont Green Team.
CAW considered these concerns in its pursuit of revised legislation.
“We don’t want to shift consumers to use a paper bag every single time they go to the grocery store. What habit we’re trying to have them create is to actually bring their own reusable bag because that’s the best environmentally friendly choice as a consumer. So we included that tiny little fee so that the consumers will be disincentized to keep buying paper bags,” Raynes said.
Nunna shares similar ideas for charging for paper and reusable bags.
“I’d say stores should make sure to charge for paper bags and also sell reusable bags and encourage that. That way, people try to buy the bags once as opposed to having to keep spending more money every time they go to the store,” Nunna said.
If the bill is signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, stores would have until 2026 to transition from plastic bags to alternative options.
“They’re clogging up our waterways and littering the ocean,” Raynes said. “They’re not necessary. We have all these reusable bags available to us.”
