Starting in 2026, shoppers in California will no longer be able to use plastic bags at checkout.
Under a measure approved by state lawmakers in 2024, all plastic shopping bags offered at store checkouts will be phased out beginning January 1, 2026. Customers who don’t bring their own reusable bags will be able to request a paper bag instead.
According to CalRecycle, “SB 1053 places new restrictions on the types of bags distributed at the point of sale by most grocery stores, retail stores with a pharmacy, convenience stores, food marts and liquor stores.”
Why the Change Matters
Plastic bags pose a serious environmental threat. They’re made from fossil fuels, can take hundreds of years to break down, and frequently end up as litter in rivers, oceans, and other natural areas. Wildlife may ingest them or become tangled in them, often with fatal consequences.
As they slowly degrade, plastic bags fragment into microplastics that spread through soil and water, infiltrating the food chain and affecting both ecosystems and human health. Because they’re used so widely and recycled so rarely, they accumulate quickly and contribute heavily to overall pollution.
Key Details About the Ban
Although the plastic bag ban was passed in 2024, its final phase begins on January 1, 2026.
State Senator Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat and one of the bill’s supporters, previously highlighted a state analysis showing that the amount of discarded plastic shopping bags per person rose from 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) a year in 2004 to 11 pounds (5 kilograms) a year in 2021.
What Advocates Are Saying
Jenn Engstrom, director of the California Public Interest Research Group, said in 2024: “Plastic bags create pollution in our environment and break into microplastics that contaminate our drinking water and threaten our health. Californians voted to ban plastic grocery bags in our state almost a decade ago, but the law clearly needed a redo. With the governor’s signature, California has finally banned plastic bags in grocery checkout lanes once and for all.”
LA County Public Works explained in an information memo that “the average bag you pick up at the grocery store, or carry your takeout in, has a life span of about 12 minutes. When discarded, they clog sewage and storm drains, entangle and kill an estimated 100,000 marine mammals every year, and degenerate into toxic microplastics that fester in our oceans and landfills for up to 1,000 years.”
What Happens Next
The law officially takes effect on January 1, 2026, after which stores covered by SB 1053 will no longer be allowed to provide plastic bags at checkout.
