Contents
The Last Checkout Choice: Paper or… Paper?
In a move that some say has been years in the making, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that will ban all plastic shopping bags starting in 2026.
The days of asking, “Paper or plastic?” at the checkout line are officially numbered. Instead, shoppers will be left with one simple choice: whether or not to bring their own bags or opt for paper.
A Plastic Problem That Refuses to Recycle Itself
California’s journey to plastic-free grocery aisles is a winding one, but some may wonder: why did it take the Golden State, a pioneer in environmental policies, so long to fully commit to a plastic bag ban? After all, California first started cracking down on single-use plastics over a decade ago, banning the thinner variety of bags.
But here’s the rub: consumers weren’t exactly following the “reusable” part of the plan. According to a state study, the amount of plastic shopping bags tossed out actually increased from 8 pounds per person in 2004 to 11 pounds in 2021.
Supporters of the new law, like State Senator Catherine Blakespear, argue that the original ban didn’t make much of a dent. “We are literally choking our planet with plastic waste,” she said earlier this year.
From Your Shopping Cart to the Ocean… or a Landfill?
While environmental advocates like Oceana cheer the law as a victory in the fight against plastic pollution, critics argue that the solution is far from perfect. Yes, the new measure might reduce plastic use in California, but what happens to all those plastic bags that people dutifully recycle?
Here’s where things get murky: much of that plastic is shipped off to other countries for recycling.
In reality, some experts argue, it’s more likely those bags end up floating in the ocean rather than getting a second life.
This has led to a bizarre counterargument: some suggest that it might be more environmentally friendly to simply throw plastic bags in the trash—where they’ll spend an eternity in a landfill—than to risk them becoming yet another piece of oceanic debris.
A Leader in Green, But Late to the Game?
For a state that has often prided itself on being ahead of the curve, it’s curious why California’s full plastic bag ban took this long. Twelve other states, including New York and Hawaii, already have similar bans in place, and hundreds of cities across the U.S. have also enacted local bans.
California might have been the first to introduce the idea—Newsom himself signed the nation’s first plastic bag ban as San Francisco’s mayor in 2007—but it has taken nearly 20 years to fully realize the vision statewide.
With plastic bags finally heading for the checkout line exit, California is once again positioning itself as a leader in environmental policy. But as the state waves goodbye to plastic bags, one question lingers: could this ban be too little, too late?
This story was first reported by the AP
