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California to ban all plastic bags at retail stores starting in 2026
New law is a stricter version of 2016 ban Californians voted into law.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Starting Jan. 1, 2026, plastic bags at California retail stores will no longer be available.
All plastic bags — including the thicker, reusable versions still common at grocery stores — are banned under new state law aimed at closing loopholes in the state’s longstanding restrictions on single-use plastics.
Shoppers at grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores and convenience stores will be limited to paper bags, which will continue to cost at least 10 cents each. Californians who use food assistance programs will be exempt from the fee.
By 2028, those paper bags must be made from at least 50% recycled material.
The changes stem from Senate Bill 1053, authored by state Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat representing the San Diego area. It was signed into law in 2024.
Blakespear said the state’s original ban on single-use plastic bags — approved by voters in 2016 — left a loophole that manufacturers exploited by selling thicker plastic bags labeled as “reusable,” even though, she emphasized, they were rarely reused and almost never recycled.
“The plastic bags at grocery stores are just not necessary,” Blakespear said. “Those single-use plastic bags, they are single-use. I mean, that’s how we use them. That’s how they’re designed, and they’re not something most people are keeping around for 150 additional uses.”
In fact, a 2022 investigation by California Attorney General Rob Bonta found that major plastic-bag manufacturers were not meeting the state’s recyclability requirements, leading to a settlement announced last October.
Some shoppers say they plan to adjust by bringing their own bags, while others worry about durability.
“As long as it’s thick enough,” shopper Byron Tucker said. “If you get the cheap ones, as soon as you get halfway out of the store, they rip.”
“I pretty much just bring my own to do my shopping,” said Jennifer Escueda. “I have a bag at home that all of those bags just go right into, so use them when I need them, I guess,” she added, noting that when she does purchase plastic bags, she often reuses them for other purposes, like packing dirty laundry while travelling.
Republican lawmakers opposed the bill, arguing the ban goes too far and won’t significantly affect global plastic waste.
“It was overkill,” said Sen. Roger Niello, a Republican representing Fair Oaks. “We’re doing a great job of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and having absolutely no impact on greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so we’re going to inconvenience consumers with regard to how they can take groceries home.”
The ban will not affect compostable plastic produce bags, which will still be allowed.
Senator Blakespear underscored her bill was intentionally narrow and geared towards grocery stores because they are “a discrete universe.” She said Californians still have the freedom to utilize plastic bags in places like clothing stores and to buy them as well, such as plastic trash bags.
