California lawmakers have possibly managed to completely remove the option of any type of plastic bag offerings from grocery stores throughout our state, and mandate a paper only option.
“Instead of being asked do you want paper or plastic at checkout, consumers will simply be asked if they want a paper bag,” said state Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas).
This comes about 10 years after lawmakers initially tried to do the same thing, but the compromise was allowing grocery stores to offer thicker “recycled” and “reusable” bags in the hopes that shoppers would reuse those bags, instead of disposing of them in the trash.
But as many of us know, regardless of the options, we still seem to always end up with closets, cupboards, nooks, and crannies stuffed with grocery store bags of all types – and those bad do eventually find themselves in the trash regardless of our good intentions.
According to certain consumer group reports (California Public Interest Research Group), the initial switch to the thicker “reusable” plastic bags that was allowed, has been the main contributor to even more plastic garbage and waste. The growth was nearly 47% more over the course of the initial legislative change 10 years ago. The reasoning understood is because the reusable bags are far thicker than the earlier ones (of course), yet still thrown away as earlier mentioned.
So representatives introduced amended legislation to Assembly Bill 2236 and Senate Bill 1053 trying to close the loophole that allows grocery stores to offer “reusable” plastic bags at the checkout. They are also trying to redefine the allowed paper bag style to be one that includes 50% or more recycled materials, instead of the 40% it is currently set at. This will be another aspect of phasing out the heavy plastic bags altogether.
If you are old enough to remember, you may recall when the state did nearly the same thing decades ago but in favor of plastic bags in order to save trees from being used in paper bags. Not exactly the same thing of course (as it has gotten a lot more complex now), but it does have a touch of irony to it.
If approved by the Governor, the new changes will take effect on January 1, 2026. Though, there may be more amendments and changes on the way in the meantime. These amendments have been pushed and passed multiple times throughout the year. And this has been one of many bills introduced and passed by the legislature trying to tackle environmental issues deemed important by the state over the last few months.
