Governor Gavin Newson signed Senate Bill 1053 into law on Oct. 20, that will ban stores from selling plastic bags, which seeks to promote sustainability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This bill strengthens SB 270, which passed in 2014 that banned single-use plastic bags from grocery stores, but allowed stores to sell reusable and recyclable plastic bags for 10 cents.
SB 1053 will become law on Jan. 1, 2026 and has the goals of reducing plastic pollution. The United Nations Environmental Programme reported that only 9% of all plastic created is recycled and 5 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year.
The plastic bags that are not banned under SB 1053 as outlined in the bill are:
- A bag provided by a pharmacy pursuant
- A nonhandled bag used to protect a purchased item from damaging or contaminating other purchased items
- A bag provided to contain an unwrapped food item
- An unhandled bag that is designed to be placed over articles of clothing on a hanger
This law will also require recycled paper bags by 2028 to be made from 50% post consumer-recycled materials which is an increase from 40% post consumer-recycled materials as outlined in SB 270.
California State Senators, Benjamin Allen and Catherine Blakespear authored SB 1053 and it is supported by numerous organizations and cities in California such as California Climate Action, Sierra Club California and Clean Water Action.
However, there are organizations opposed to the bill such as American Forest and Paper Association and Western Plastic Association. One opposition made the argument that banning single-use plastic bags will increase the production of non-woven polypropylene bags.
NWPP bags feel like canvas but are made from plastic and are often used for reusable bags. Despite this many argue that NWPP bags are a more sustainable and climate-friendly alternative to single-use plastic bags.
Since SB 270 was passed we have seen an increase in tote bags and other forms of reusable bags. Trader Joes, Target, Safeway and other grocery outlets provide their own reusable bags often made from NWPP.
Chris Hutton can be reached at [email protected].
