California Wants to Ban Reusable Grocery Bags - Newsweek

Legislation that would ban retailers from giving any plastic bags to customers in California, including those currently legal as they are deemed recyclable, has passed both chambers of the California state legislature via two separate bills.

Two identical bills, AB 2236 and SB 1053, were introduced to the California State Assembly and State Senate respectively. On May 21 AB 2236 passed the State Assembly with 51 votes in favor and seven against, while SB 1053 was approved by the State Senate in a 31-7 vote.

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California banned single use plastic bags in 2014, making it the first state to do so, though retailers were still permitted to offer customers multi-use bags. However according to the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), which supports the new legislation, this didn't have the desired effect with a record 231,000 tons of plastic bags being discarded in the state during 2021, the most recent year for which data is available.

AB 2236 has now passed on to the State Senate while SB 1053 is with the State Assembly. If either bill is approved by a second legislative chamber, then signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, it will take effect on January 1, 2026.

Under the proposed legislation grocery stores would still be able to sell paper bags for a minimum of 10 cents each provided they are made with at least 50 percent recycled content.

Reacting to AB 2236 and SB 1053 passing their first legislative hurdles, Jenn Engstrom, state director of CALPIRG, commented: "California's current bag ban law, which allows businesses to replace thin plastic bags with supposedly reusable ones at checkout, clearly is not working.

"Plastic companies mass-producing thicker bags circumvent the law's intent. Then, inevitably, discarded bags pollute our communities and environment. We're thankful the state legislature is taking action to finally ban plastic grocery bags once and for all."

CALPIRG argued that the record amount of plastic bag waste created in California in 2021 shows that "despite the best intentions of the current statewide bag law, Californians are not reusing or recycling them."

State Senator Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat and one of the principle sponsors of SB 1053, said: "California's original ban on plastic bags hasn't worked out as planned, and sadly, the state's plastic bag waste has increased dramatically since it went into effect.

"We need to do better. Shockingly, some 18 billion pounds of plastic waste flows into the oceans every year from coastal regions alone. California must do its part to eliminate this scourge that is contaminating our environment."

Newsweek contacted the office of Governor Gavin Newsom for comment via an online inquiry form outside of usual office hours.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency it can "take between 100 to 1,000 years or more" for plastic waste to decompose, with the exact length impacted by environmental conditions.

However, the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, which opposes the new legislation, argues bans on re-usable plastic bags are counterproductive.

They said: "While bans will eliminate plastic carryout bags from the marketplace, forcing stores and shoppers to switch to alternative products with greater environmental impacts that are rarely reused enough to be more sustainable will not help our shared environment.

"Instead of counterproductive policies that increase costs on consumers, bag-related emissions, and environmental impacts, the industry believes in promoting the reuse or recycling of plastic carryout bags."

A recent paper published in the journal Applied Spectroscopy found that Lake Tahoe, on the California/Nevada border, contains an average of 133 pieces of plastic litter for every mile. Worldwide single use plastic bags continue to be popular, with an estimated five trillion used per year.

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James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world politics. He has covered the intersection between politics and emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence. James joined Newsweek in July 2022 from LBC, and previously worked for the Daily Express. He is a graduate of Oxford University. Languages: English. Twitter: @JBickertonUK.

You can get in touch with James by emailing [email protected]

James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ...Read more