California Gov. Newsom signs law banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores

“Paper or plastic” will soon no longer be an option at California grocery stores due to a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which bans all plastic shopping bags.

While California had previously prohibited the use of thin plastic bags, stores allowed the sale of thicker, supposedly reusable plastic bags. Under the new law, approved by state legislators last month, all plastic bags will be banned by 2026. Shoppers who don’t bring reusable bags will only be offered paper bags at checkout.

State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a key supporter of the bill, cited a state study showing that plastic bag usage had increased, with the amount of plastic shopping bags discarded per person rising from 8 pounds annually in 2004 to 11 pounds in 2021. She pointed out that people were not recycling or reusing the thicker plastic bags, undermining the previous ban.

“We are literally choking our planet with plastic waste,” Blakespear said.

The environmental nonprofit Oceana praised the new law, with Christy Leavitt, Oceana’s plastics campaign director, noting that it reinforces California’s leadership in addressing plastic pollution.

Twelve other states, along with hundreds of cities across 28 states, have already enacted various forms of plastic bag bans, according to Environment America Research & Policy Center.