On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that would close a legal loophole that has allowed plastic bag litter to increase in California, despite a 2014 law designed to ban the environmental scourge.
“Plastic bags pollute our environment and break down into microplastics that contaminate our drinking water and threaten our health,” said Jenn Engstrom, director of CALPIRG, a consumer advocacy group. “Californians voted to ban plastic bags in our state nearly a decade ago, but the law clearly needed to be revised. With the governor’s signature, California has finally banned plastic bags from supermarket checkouts once and for all.”
In 2014, Parliament passed a law banning single-use plastic bags at supermarket and retail checkouts. It did, however, allow stores to offer consumers “reusable” bags for a small fee. These included paper and high-density polyethylene bags, which plastic manufacturers said could be reused.
This year, CALPIRG released a report showing that the volume of plastic bag waste in California had actually increased since 2014 because of a loophole in that law.
In 2014, 157,385 tons of plastic bags were thrown away in California. In 2021, that tonnage jumped to 231,072, a 47% increase.
Even taking into account population growth, the report notes, the number has increased from 4.08 tonnes per 1,000 people in 2014 to 5.89 tonnes per 1,000 people in 2021.
The new law will go into effect on January 1, 2026, and will only apply to carrier bags, not bags used to hold produce or to package foods that could cause contamination, such as meat. Additionally, starting January 1, 2028, the definition of a recycled paper bag will change from one made from 40% recycled materials to one that contains more than 50% recycled materials.
“The new grocery store checkout ban reinforces California’s position as a leader in combating the global plastic pollution crisis,” said Christy Leavitt, Oceana’s plastics campaign director.
She said plastic bags are “one of the deadliest types of plastic for ocean wildlife” and noted that when they break down, they become a pernicious environmental pollutant – having been detected in air, water, plants and the human body.
“Our elected leaders at the state and national levels should continue to enact new policies to stop plastic pollution at the source,” she said.
A statewide poll released by Oceana in 2022 found that 86% of California voters support state and local policies that reduce single-use plastic, and 92% of California voters are concerned about single-use plastic products such as grocery bags, beverage bottles and takeout containers.
“Nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute the environment for hundreds of years,” said Laura Deehan, director of Environment California. “Finally, with this much-needed update to the plastic bag ban, grocery bags will no longer pose a threat to sea turtles, birds and other wildlife in California.”
Others also welcomed the new law.
“This is a major event! Californians voted to ban plastic bags in 2016 and they didn’t get what they voted for,” said Nick Lapis, advocacy director for Californians Against Waste, referring to Proposition 67, a ballot measure that doubled down on the 2014 plastic bag ban and was approved by California voters. “I think this is an important example of how California policymakers engage on issues over time and don’t just leave it the day a bill passes.”
The plastic recycling industry, however, opposed the bill.
“We are disappointed that Governor Newsom has chosen to sign Senate Bill 1053,” said Erin Hass, executive director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance. “This flawed bill is similar to legislation in New Jersey, Canada and other jurisdictions that has led to the widespread use of imported, non-recyclable plastic bags.”
Also Sunday, the governor vetoed AB 2214, which would have required state agencies to begin developing guidelines and language to address the growing problem of microplastic pollution.
In a statement explaining his reasons for refusing to sign, Newsom cited a 2018 law that directed the Ocean Protection Council to develop a national microplastics strategy, which he described as providing a “comprehensive and coordinated approach to identify initial steps California can take to combat microplastic pollution and advance existing microplastics research.”
That law required the board and other state agencies to report their findings to the state Legislature by December 2025.
“I believe this bill and the requirement for agencies to develop work plans before issuing policy recommendations is premature,” Newsom wrote.
