New law effectively banning all plastic bags at grocery stores

https://apnews.com/article/california-plastic-bag-ban-406dedf02b416ad2bb302f498c3bce58

California has a plastic bag problem — but not for long. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a law fully banning plastic shopping bags in grocery stores, updating a decade-old ban that made plastic pollution in the state worse, not better.

In 2014, California banned traditional plastic shopping bags at supermarkets and other stores that sell food, but shoppers could still purchase bags made of thicker plastic meant to be reused or recycled. However, a state study found that plastic shopping bag waste each year grew from 8 pounds per person in 2004 to 11 pounds per year in 2021. It turns out that shoppers weren't reusing the thicker plastic bags; they were simply discarding them like normal.

The new revamped law bans all plastic shopping bags starting in 2026, asking customers to bring their own reusable bags or buy a paper shopping bag for an additional fee. 

Jenn Engstrom, state director for CALPIRG, said in a statement that plastic bag bans work — just not the way California had been doing it. That's mainly due to greenwashing plastic bag manufacturers who took advantage of the previous law's loophole to produce these thicker bags and tout them as sustainable.

Attached link

Taxonomy

• plastic pollution
• Plastic Ban
• Plastic waste