Plastic bag ban isn’t enough, California lawmakers say. These bills aim to close loophole

Angela Rodriguez
·3 min read
54

No more plastic bags? Two bills introduced in the California legislature last week want to make the state’s bag ban even stronger.

On Thursday, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda; Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica; and Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, announced two new bills that could eliminate the option for customers to receive or purchase a plastic bag at grocery, retail, and convenience stores.

For nearly a decade, Senate Bill 270 has banned California stores from providing single-use carryout plastic bags — with the exception of allowing customers to purchase a thicker “reusable” one for at least 10 cents.

Although Newsom temporarily lifted the ban on plastic bags during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Assembly Bill 2236 and Senate Bill 1053 seek to close “loopholes and (ensure) a quick transition to sustainable alternatives like paper and reusable bags,” the news release says.

“The most critical (loophole) is these plastic bags that people can still purchase at their stores,” Bauer-Kahan said in a phone interview with The Sacramento Bee on Friday.

While the current plastic bags available for consumers to purchase are considered re-usable and can be used at least 125 times, Bauer-Kahan said California “just changed the type of plastic“ that stores were distributing to consumers.

“They aren’t any more sustainable than the previous plastic bags,” Bauer-Kahan said. “We’re closing the loophole and shutting the door on all plastic bags.”

If the bills are approved into California law, Bauer-Kahan said plastic bags — including the ones currently sold for 10 cents — will no longer be distributed.

How will this affect how I shop?

If these bills pass, what kind of bag options will I have while shopping?

While plastic bags would no longer be available for purchase if signed into state law, Bauer-Kahan said customers will still have these alternative options:

  • Re-used plastic bags.

  • Big totes.

  • Paper bags.

“Going to paper bags and truly re-usable bags is critical to dealing with the waste problems we have,” Bauer-Kahan said.

Why were these bills introduced?

In Orinda, Bauer-Kahan said she has noticed an increase in the number of plastic bags building up in creeks, waterways and landfills.

“We were hopeful when we started using these (re-usable plastic bags) that it would drive down some of this waste problem, but it just hasn’t,” Bauer-Kahan said.

Where do the bills currently stand?

“We’ve had trouble moving plastic legislation through the legislature in the past,” Bauer-Kahan said.

With a joint-identical effort in both houses, Bauer-Kahan said “starting in both houses will really give (the bills) a chance of success.”

These bills have just been introduced and have not reached the Legislation Committee, Bauer-Kahan said.

“The goal is to see the end of plastic bags in grocery stores, to completely move to re-usable bags and to have consumers using bags that are friendlier to the environment,” Bauer-Kahan said.

If these proposed bills make it through the Legislature and are signed by the governor, California would no longer distribute plastic bags starting Jan. 1, 2026.

“There’s more work to be done after this, but I think it’s a great first start,” Bauer-Kahan said.

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