“Paper or plastic?”
You won’t be hearing that common question at California grocery stores any more starting Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026.
That’s when a new statewide ban on plastic bags goes into effect.
Senate Bill 1053, which was signed into law in September 2024, prevents grocery markets, convenience stores, food marts and retailers with pharmacies from giving shoppers any type of plastic bag at check out.
Stores will only be allowed to hand out recycled paper bags to customers, according to California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, also known as CalRecycle.
Here’s how Californians will be affected by the plastic bag ban:
Discarded plastic and other material overflow in a garbage bin on Oct. 26, 2022, in Los Angeles. Mario Tama Getty Images/TNS
Didn’t California already ban plastic bags?
California voters previously approved a statewide referendum upholding a ban on single-use carryout plastic bags in November 2016.
Under Senate Bill 270, grocery stores had to start charging at least 10 cents for reusable grocery bags or recycled paper bags, according to the California Department of Justice.
By only banning single-use, lightweight plastic bags, the law left open a loophole for businesses to distribute thicker plastic bags under the guise that they could be reused up to 125 times by consumers, CalRecycle said.
The initial ban ultimately resulted in “an increased amount of plastic and plastic waste” because Californians rarely used the same bag twice, according to Senate Bill 1053.
In California grocery stores will only be able to provide 10-cent recycled paper bags to customers at checkout counters, self-checkout kiosks and in-store pickup purchases starting Jan. 1, 2026. sanjeri Getty Images
What to know about California’s new plastic bag ban
The new bill — co-authored by state Sn. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda — restricts the type of carry out bags that can be given to customers at many California stores.
Beginning Thursday, Jan. 1, these types of shops will no longer be allowed to pass out plastic bags:
- Grocery stores
- Retail stores with a pharmacy
- Convenience stores
- Food marts
- Liquor stores
Stores will only be able to provide 10-cent recycled paper bags to customers at checkout counters, self-checkout kiosks and in-store pickup purchases starting Jan. 1.
The law will also apply to curbside and home deliveries, according to CalRecycle.
In two years’ time — beginning Jan. 1, 2028 — only recycled paper bags composed of at least 50% post-consumer recycled materials will be legal to distribute at stores.
Sturdy plastic bags like these ones will be banned in California grocery stores starting Jan. 1, 2026. The Tribune
How will grocery stores be affected by plastic bag ban?
The shopping experience will remain relatively the same for Californians once the bag ban goes into effect, according to the California Grocers Association, a group representing more than 6,000 food stores across the state.
“While paper bags cost grocers more than reusable plastic bags and the supply chain can be finicky, the grocery community supported Sen. Blakespear’s effort to bring California closer to what has always been the goal: incentivizing customers to reuse their bags and reduce waste,” Nate Rose, the association’s vice president of communications and public affairs, told The Sacramento Bee in an email.
He said that customers and grocers should expect few, if any, hiccups once plastic bags are no longer available.
“The grocery shopping experience will be mostly unchanged because reusable paper bags will still be available for purchase and customers are encouraged to bring reusable bags from home, as always,” he said.
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Hannah Poukish
The Tribune
Hannah Poukish covers San Luis Obispo County and California news as The Tribune’s service journalism reporter. She previously reported and produced stories for The Sacramento Bee, CNN, Spectrum News and The Mercury News in San Jose. She graduated from Stanford University with a master’s degree in journalism.
