California to Ban Plastic Bags in Stores

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law banning plastic bags in stores in a year, the Associated Press reports.

Thin plastic bags are already banned in supermarkets and other stores in the state, but shoppers have been able to buy thick plastic bags because they are expected to be reused and recycled.

The new law, passed by lawmakers last month, would ban all plastic shopping bags by 2026. Customers who come into the store without their own bags will be asked if they want a paper bag.

One of the new law's supporters, state Sen. Katherine Blakespear, said people generally don't reuse or recycle plastic bags. She cited a state study that found the amount of plastic bags thrown away has risen from 8.5 pounds per person per year in 2004 to 11 pounds per year in 2021.

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Blakespear, a Democrat, said the previous restriction, enacted a decade ago, has not reduced the overall amount of plastic used.

"We are literally suffocating the planet with plastic waste," she said in February.

The signing of the law was welcomed by environmentalists.

Kristi Leavitt, director of the Plastic Campaign at the environmental NGO Oceana, said the new ban on single-use plastic bags "solidifies California as a leader in the fight against the global plastic pollution crisis."

According to the environmental group Environment America Research & Policy Center, 12 states, including California, have some form of plastic bag ban. Hundreds of cities in 28 states have their own restrictions.

The original plastic bag ban was approved by the California legislature in 2014 and confirmed by voters in a referendum in 2016.

Newsom signed the country's first plastic bag ban back in 2007, when he was mayor of San Francisco.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga