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September 30, 2024
Should California Be Banning All Plastic Shopping Bags?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning plastic bags from grocery store checkouts after the state’s initial move to ban single-use plastic bags led to more plastic waste.
In 2014, California became the first state to pass a plastic bag ban, with at least 11 other states now having laws banning or restricting single-use plastic bags to curb the increasing amount of plastic waste finding its way to landfills and oceans.
However, a loophole allowed stores in California to offer shoppers thicker plastic bags that purportedly made them reusable and recyclable for a nominal charge.
Though California’s law significantly reduced the total number of plastic bags being distributed, the increased thickness of the bags offered at checkout counters led to more plastic pollution. The “reusable” bags, made with non-woven polypropylene, were also found to be reused and recycled infrequently.
Earlier this year, a report from CalRecycle, California’s recycling agency, found that plastic bag waste discarded in California had soared 47% to 231,072 tons in 2021 from 157,385 tons in 2014. The increase was also partly due to plastic bag use increasing during the pandemic over fears that reusable cloth bags could spread the virus.
California’s expanded law bans the sale at grocery checkouts of all plastic bags, regardless of thickness. The only option for customers who lack their own reusable shopping bags will be to buy paper bags for 10 cents each.
The law, set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, excludes bags used to hold produce or wrap food that could cause contamination, such as meat. Stores can still sell reusable tote bags, but not at the checkout counter.
Also, starting in 2028, stores’ “recycled paper bags” will be required to be composed of at least 50% post-consumer recycled materials, up from 40% currently.
The new ban “at grocery store checkouts solidifies California as a leader in tackling the global plastic pollution crisis,” Christy Leavitt, Oceana’s plastics campaign director, told the Los Angeles Times. She said plastic bags are “one of the deadliest types of plastic to ocean wildlife,” also noting how microplastics find their way into air, water, and food as plastic breaks down.
California also filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil on Sept. 23, alleging the oil giant deceived the public for half a century by promising that the plastics it produced would be recycled.
Other states have learned from California’s challenges.
Environmentalists in New York, which banned plastic bags at most store checkouts in 2020, blocked a loophole that would have allowed the distribution of thicker plastic bags. Plastic bag bans in both Colorado and Rhode Island specified that any bags sold as reusable must have stitched handles, disqualifying thicker plastic bags that require heat sealing.
In New Jersey, however, plastic consumption tripled despite the state’s 2022 plastic ban because more plastic was used to make woven and non-woven polypropylene bags that would likewise be used a few times and then discarded, according to analysis released earlier this year from Freedonia Custom Research, Marketresearch.com’s business research division.
The report was funded by the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, which advocates against plastic bag bans.
Plastic bag manufacturers insist that the common thin plastic film bag, made of polyethylene, is more eco-friendly than more expensive alternatives, even though the recycling process can be costly and complex.
Erin Hass, director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, told the New York Times that paper bags were far less convenient for consumers who rely on public transportation and those who can’t afford a reusable tote bag. She said similar to legislation in New Jersey, Canada, and other regions, the outright ban would lead to widespread use of imported non-recyclable plastic-cloth bags. She stated, “California is once again out of touch with reality.”
A Wall Street Journal editorial concluded that California’s ban would lead to sturdier bags made of non-woven polypropylene (NWPP) heading to landfills, similar to New Jersey’s experience. The paper wrote, “The smart thing would be for lawmakers to recognize that trying to micromanage consumer choices is harder than it looks and can backfire in unexpected ways.”
Paper bags are easier to recycle than plastic and more degradable, but many environmental advocates are seeking a move away from single-use bags of any type despite the inconvenience to shoppers.
“The whole goal is to get people to switch from disposable options — especially plastic, but disposable options altogether — to reusable and refillable options,” Melissa Valliant, communications director for the advocacy group Beyond Plastics, told NPR. “Because ultimately that is going to be the most sustainable and the best for both environment and human health.”
Discussion Questions
Do you find more benefits than drawbacks in California’s stricter plastic bag ban?
Can grocers be doing more to offset any inconvenience the bag restrictions may cause shoppers?
Poll
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Mark Ryski
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David Spear
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My personal preference is for the government not to go around banning things – something California excels at! However, I don’t see this as too much of an issue so long as consumers can get paper bags. A number of chains – like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods – already routinely use paper bags on a national basis. And many non-food retailers also use paper. That said, it is kind of amusing that most people throw paper bags out once they’ve used them whereas they store plastic bags for other uses. So perhaps ‘solving’ this problem will simply cause other ones. Political interference is often like that…
I don’t think I really know enough about the facts to make an informed decision….and quess what: the same can be said for the (CA) Legislature. Maybe this is a good idea, maybe it isn’t, but if the former it’s more a matter of chance. This one of those (all too frequent) times when I want to post I’d apologize for California, but I actually have to live here ™.
I wouldn’t be very sorry to see the common plastic-film shopping bag “sun-setted” everywhere following California’s lead. But it does seem that the law of unintended consequences rules in this situation.
When it comes to single-use grocery bags, banning the pretty bad product seems to have led to wider use of worse products. Maybe the incentives are poorly designed? (Maybe the recycling industry itself is a thinly-veiled lie perpetrated by the petroleum industry?)
Certainly we need to dream up some other options available to curb plastic bag use. A 50-cent deposit per bag? Deposits barely work with soft-drink bottles. Grocery store recycling stations? They collect more dust than plastic bags.
What if grocers with loyalty programs just gave all their members reusable grocery totes, like the stiff-sided, folding ones from Natural Grocers? (In our house, we use them for all our shopping now.) Then stop giving shoppers any bags at all. It will be awkward for about six months, then folks will stop bellyaching and adapt.
In the meanwhile, brown paper grocery bags are theoretically less damaging. Some people actually do separate them for recycling, and they can be made from reclaimed wood fiber, hemp or bamboo.
Reducing packaging in the FMCG industry is a divine intent, IMO. I’m not certain that California pols thought through all the implications of a grocery bag ban. I do hope they keep trying to establish workable alternatives.
“The smart thing would be for lawmakers to recognize that trying to micromanage consumer choices is harder than it looks and can backfire in unexpected ways.” – Wall Street Journal Editorial.
That’s WAY too logical. And what would government do if it couldn’t micromanage? Plus in my absolutely beautiful California, it’s about being first not necessarily smart or right or logical. Remember, we have water insecurity but are top producers of almonds and marijuana. And I’m not saying we should stop producing either – just pointing out the irony. Plus we’re pretty giddy about our electric cars, some of which guzzle unnecessary amounts of electricity. Shouldn’t we be against the unnecessary guzzling of any energy?
I think if we’re trusting people with legal marijuana or feel we can educate people to use it responsibly, then we should be able to trust or educate people to use legal, plastic bags responsibly – don’t you?
Remember when California wanted everyone to use only plastic bags in order to save the trees?
My view will be unpopular with some, but California over-reacts, over bans, and over legislates freedoms, liberties, and consumer choices.
No, I don’t believe that California’s state government needs to ban plastic bags. Db
Remember Paula Poundstone’s old bit about becoming frozen and in a neurotic spin at the checkout counter when the clerk asked her “paper or plastic?” I know she’s got a lot of issues, but that was a funny bit.
The only alternative, and I don’t feel like it should be legislated either, is a small discount if you BYOB (Bring your own bags). Take the government out and let the consumer decide if she wants to save a few sheckels or not. The one time I shopped at Aldi’s, they charged me (and I didn’t see it coming) 6 cents per paper bag. That just caused me to never return. The opposite would have been better, I think.
Yes!!! All of us should be doing our part to ecologically maximize our use of re-usable things and minimizing disposable things. This includes plastic bags, plastic straws, etc. Stores should not be providing any plastic bags, and should be encouraging reusable bags only.
In Costco there is no bagging at all! Was that legislated or a decision they made? Perhaps there is a free market solution to this rather than more legislation?
One of the few statements that makes sense in this article is what the WSJ reported, “The smart thing would be for lawmakers to recognize that trying to micromanage consumer choices is harder than it looks and can backfire in unexpected ways.” Look how many times California legislators have changed and modified the laws on bags over the years. Every time there is a change, there is added cost which are passed along to the consumer. Retailers should be making these decisions, not government.
Actually, ultimately, the consumer decides, not the retailer.
Changing consumer behavior is a challenge, even for efforts like reducing or eliminating plastic waste that virtually everyone agrees is bad for the environment. The issue here is not the ‘what’ but the ‘how.’ California took one approach, assessed the outcomes and determined that additional, stricter provisions were required to produce the outcomes they desire. It’s the government’s responsibility to enact regulations and, as a coastal state California is especially exposed to the consequences of the plastic bag pollution problem since this often ends up in the ocean. Consumers will eventually get past this, just as they have done in every other jurisdiction where plastic has been banned.
Yes, California should ban plastic bags and so should every other state in the Union! Save the Planet!
Plastic bags are easy and convenient… and I use them. A lot of convenient things are not good for you or we. 12 states (CA, CT, DE, HI, ME, NJ, NY, OR, VT, WA, RI, CO) now have some form of legislation restricting or banning the use of plastic bags which translates to roughly 1/4 of the US population covered by such legislation resulting in reports of nearly 30% reduction in presence of plastic bags by ICC volunteers cleaning up beaches. Also, we could find better uses for domestic crude oil than the millions of barrels a year used to make plastic bags. While individual liberties and choices are great, all for them, the tragedy of the commons is a real dynamic. Plastic bags are dumb. Not a hill any of us should want to die on. Kudos to retailers that don’t provide them and encourage consumers to use their own bags.
This is another (albeit small) example of Government overreach. If only building a perfect, earth supportive society were as easy as passing a few bills or creating new regulations. California’s legislature is giving its residents more reasons to leave, but that is another topic.
On this one, why not offer incentives to shoppers, say a small discount when using your own bags? Whole Foods does that, and while the incentive is small ($0.10 per bag) it does change behavior.
Making it against the law, with law enforcement now tasked with yet another thing to chase, just gives the state another reason to audit your business and make a nuisance of things.
Why not educate people about how long it takes a plastic bag to decompose (10 to 20 years) and give a small incentive to bringing your own bag? Take the carrot out and leave the stick at the Governor’s mansion.
The statewide bag regulations in California only apply to stores selling liquor. So department stores, malls, home improvement stores, etc. still give thin plastic bags there in most of the state. A few counties the rules do apply to “all retailers.”
The problem is California for the past 10 years allowed liquor selling retailers to sell for 10cents super thick “reusable” plastic bags which were the weight of 6-10 thin bags. This is what caused a giant increase in film plastic waste in the state following the thin plastic bag ban.
Personally I’d like to see the entire law rolled off the books and no more bag fee or bag regulations. But this is California and it isn’t happening.
A compromise would be a return to thin bags and put the 10 cent fee on the thin bags. This is how Chicago, Minneapolis, and Washington D.C. handle their bag rule, thin bags are still available but you pay extra (fees may only be 5 cents in those places).
Paper bags take up a lot of water to make and a lot of resources in energy to make. They take up much more space in transit.
The US cannot meet current Paper bag demand and more Paper bags are being imported from China (Amazon/Whole Foods), Vietnam, or United Arab Emeritus (CVS). This will only worsen with the CA law in 2026.
Paper bag cost has shot up with many small grocers seeing Paper bags cost as much as 28 cents each from their wholesaler (C&S for instance). Even with a 10 cent fee it is not viable to order them in anymore.
The thicker bags creates a lot more litter. Not surprising. A lot of the thinner bags ended up in landfills… mainly filled with garbage or pet waste. Because people were reusing those bags. As a matter of fact, the checkout bag is the only piece of plastic film packaging that can be reused, and is reused. Without the thin ones, people are just collecting garbage in the thicker ones and straight to the landfill.
Paper bags are far wore environmentally. The manufacturing process of paper bags requires far more energy and water than plastic and creates far more greenhouse gas emissions. In WA state, one of the justifications for a bag ban was to help the struggling paper industries. Yay!
Plastic bag bans are well meaning but with many unintended consequences – increased litter, increased waste in landfills, and increased greenhouse gasses.
I find this fascinating. Similar to California, in the UK plastic bags have been charged for for nearly 10 years – with the price going up several times. There has been a move toward reusable bags – ‘A bag for life’ – which retailers replace for free when it wears out – has been one initiative.
When I first heard about the approach in California, it surprised me greatly. The reason being that having watched lots of US TV dramas as a child and young adult, the vision of someone with their groceries in a paper bag – carried at chest level – was one I had seen so many times – thus making me believe this was the norm throughout America.
What has been interesting across UK and EU has been the innovation following the ban/discouragement of plastic bags. As well as bags for life, examples include re-usable drawstring net bags for vegetables and very strong paper packaging in stores – which Amazon now use for parcel delivery.
There are some who believe that regulation prevents innovation – in this case it has aided it.
…and every alternative costs the customer extra money. Not to mention sanitation issues. Additional chemical waste from detergents if washed properly, etc.
Also those 10p or 30p “Bags for Life” are the very same super thick plastic bags that California has banned. So that isn’t going to be an option here.