Two California bills being proposed in the State Senate and Assembly could ban retailers and grocery stores from selling reusable plastic bags.
“I don’t like plastic bags, personally, but I don’t think it's right to just ban it. It’s not convenient for people in the case they forgot to bring it,” said Sophie Sun, Los Osos resident.
Senate Bill 1053 and Assembly Bill 2236 propose banning grocery and retail stores from providing customers with reusable plastic grocery bags at checkout.
“Not against them banning the thicker bags but I do think people should really be more conscious about trying to bring their own bag with them to the market,” said Pat Mangione, Morro Bay resident.
The bills’ authors argue this will close the loophole in the original ban of thin, single-use plastic bags enacted 10 years ago that still allowed certain stores to sell a thicker version of the bags. They say it will help eliminate plastic pollution and encourage people to bring reusable bags from home.
If the bills pass, grocery stores could offer customers non-plastic film reusable grocery bags or recycled paper bags that are made from a minimum of 50 percent recycled materials for no less than 10 cents each.
“That might help to do the recyclable paper bags,” Mangione said.
Daniel Conway, VP of Government Relations for the California Grocers Association said, in part, “We know that even the best policies may need to be updated over time to reflect changes in our society.”
The bill is heavily opposed by the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, stating, in part, “This bill will not reduce plastic. It will merely shift Californians to other plastic bags that result in significantly more plastic consumption.”
“I think the little produce bag in the store bothers me more than the big, thick plastic bag. At least those are reusable,” Sun said.
If the bills pass both houses and are signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the ban would go into effect starting January 1, 2026.
