Plastic bag ban at grocery stores takes effect New Years Day

by Luke Harold

A statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at checkouts in grocery stores took effect Jan. 1.

The bill, SB 1053 authored by state Sen. Catherine Blakespear, bolsters existing state law that allowed thicker plastic bags designed to be reusable, but often not recyclable. Stores are now only able to offer paper bags at the point of sale.

“Californians have been ready and able to shop without plastic bags for a long time, and I’m glad SB 1053 finally follows through on the state’s original ban so we can effectively reduce plastic waste and better protect the environment,” Blakespear said in a statement. “The plastic bag prohibition at grocery store checkouts will eliminate millions of plastic bags from our waste stream, and using paper bags, when you don’t have a reusable one, is a more renewable and recyclable resource that doesn’t require drilling for oil in its creation, as plastic bags do.”

It was approved by the Senate and Assembly in August 2024, and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom the next month, with an effective date of 2026.

“Plastic pollution and the impacts of microplastics on human health fall disproportionately on marginalized communities,” reads a Senate analysis of the bill. “Both due to plastics and to the environmental impacts of plastic production. Nearly all plastic is produced from fossil fuels and generates greenhouse gas emissions and toxic chemicals that impact air and water quality.”

Since the existing laws have been in effect, media reports and organizations, including Californians Against Waste, have documented the increasing volume of plastic waste.

The bill was supported by organizations including California Grocers Association, Oceana and the Surfrider Foundation.

“Nearly a decade ago, Californians voted to ban plastic grocery bags,” Fiona Hines, California Public Interest Research Group legislative advocate, said in a statement. “On their first grocery run of the new year, shoppers will finally find what they’ve long supported: checkout lanes free from unnecessary plastic.”