California bans all plastic shopping bags at store checkouts: When will it go into effect?

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California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new bill that extends the state's plastic bag ban to include thicker "reusable" plastic bags at grocery store checkouts. This move follows an earlier ban on single-use plastic bags, which has been in place for nearly a decade.

Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, a key coauthor of the bill, expressed that this legislation is a step toward a cleaner, more sustainable future for communities, children, and the planet. She emphasized the need to eliminate plastic bags to continue reducing pollution.

The newly signed bill marks a significant tightening of California's plastic ban, furthering the state's efforts to combat plastic waste.

The earlier legislation permitted stores to sell customers thicker plastic carryout bags, deemed reusable if they met certain recyclability standards. However, as noted in a statement on Senator Catherine Blakespear's website, who introduced the new bill, these bags are rarely reused or recycled as intended. Instead, most of them end up in landfills or as environmental pollutants.

The new bill aims to address this issue by banning even these thicker plastic bags, pushing for a more effective reduction of plastic waste in California.

Previously, grocery stores in California gave customers the option of choosing between plastic or paper bags at checkout. However, under the new bill, SB 1053, customers who don’t bring a reusable bag will now only be offered a paper bag, eliminating the choice of plastic altogether.

Senator Catherine Blakespear, the bill's sponsor, stated, "This straightforward approach is easy to follow and will help dramatically reduce plastic bag pollution." By removing plastic options, the bill seeks to further cut down on environmental waste and promote more sustainable habits.